New Class of Therapy for Chronic Heart Failure

In the US, heart failure affects approximately eight million people, carries a poor prognosis, and represents the single largest healthcare cost for people over 65 years old. Most heart failure therapies rely on blocking the deleterious effects of stress hormones on the heart, but therapies aimed at repairing failing heart muscles are lacking. The lab directed by Robin Shaw (MD, PhD) and Nora Eccles Harrison Cardiovascular Research & Training Institute (CVRTI) Investigators have identified an architectural protein (cBIN1) of heart muscle cells that organizes the intracellular signalizing network responsible for heart muscle contraction and relaxation. They found that lowering cBIN1 caused heart failure progression, and that, in animal models, replacement of cBIN1 by gene therapy rescued failing heart muscle and prevented death. Furthermore, they devised a cBIN1 blood test that can predict hospitalization and death caused by heart failure in patients. Shaw and his team are now preparing for preclinical development of a cBIN1-directed therapy for heart failure. Successful development of such a therapy will significantly improve the lives of Americans and economics of our health care system