Abstract

Pathological stress from cardiovascular disease stimulates hypertrophy of heart cells, which increases the risk of cardiac morbidity and mortality. Recent evidence has indicated that inhibiting such hypertrophy could be beneficial, encouraging drug discovery and development efforts for agents that could achieve this goal. Most existing therapies that have antihypertrophic effects target outside–in signalling in cardiac cells, but their effectiveness seems limited, and so attention has recently turned to the potential of targeting intracellular signalling pathways. Here, we focus on new developments with small-molecule inhibitors of cardiac hypertrophy, summarizing both agents that have been in or are poised for clinical testing, and pathways that offer further promising potential therapeutic targets.

Author affiliations

1. Gilead Colorado, Inc., 7575 West 103^rd Avenue, Westminster, Colorado 80021, USA.
   Email: timothy.mckinsey@gilead.com
2. Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Ross Research Building 835, 720 Rutland Avenue, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA.
   Email: dkass@jhmi.edu

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