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Johnston JR, Adler ED. Precision Genetic Therapies: Balancing Risk and Benefit in Patients with Heart Failure. Curr Cardiol Rep 2024; 26:973-983. [PMID: 39110386 DOI: 10.1007/s11886-024-02096-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/02/2024] [Indexed: 09/07/2024]
Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW Precision genetic medicine is evolving at a rapid pace and bears significant implications for clinical cardiology. Herein, we discuss the latest advancements and emerging strategies in gene therapy for cardiomyopathy and heart failure. RECENT FINDINGS Elucidating the genetic architecture of heart failure has paved the way for precision therapies in cardiovascular medicine. Recent preclinical studies and early-phase clinical trials have demonstrated encouraging results that support the development of gene therapies for heart failure arising from a variety of etiologies. In addition to the discovery of new therapeutic targets, innovative delivery platforms are being leveraged to improve the safety and efficacy of cardiac gene therapies. Precision genetic therapy represents a potentially safe and effective approach for improving outcomes in patients with heart failure. It holds promise for radically transforming the treatment paradigm for heart failure by directly targeting the underlying etiology. As this new generation of cardiovascular medicines progress to the clinic, it is especially important to carefully evaluate the benefits and risks for patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jamie R Johnston
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, 32306, USA
| | - Eric D Adler
- Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA.
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Malinow I, Fong DC, Miyamoto M, Badran S, Hong CC. Pediatric dilated cardiomyopathy: a review of current clinical approaches and pathogenesis. Front Pediatr 2024; 12:1404942. [PMID: 38966492 PMCID: PMC11223501 DOI: 10.3389/fped.2024.1404942] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2024] [Accepted: 06/05/2024] [Indexed: 07/06/2024] Open
Abstract
Pediatric dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a rare, yet life-threatening cardiovascular condition characterized by systolic dysfunction with biventricular dilatation and reduced myocardial contractility. Therapeutic options are limited with nearly 40% of children undergoing heart transplant or death within 2 years of diagnosis. Pediatric patients are currently diagnosed based on correlating the clinical picture with echocardiographic findings. Patient age, etiology of disease, and parameters of cardiac function significantly impact prognosis. Treatments for pediatric DCM aim to ameliorate symptoms, reduce progression of disease, and prevent life-threatening arrhythmias. Many therapeutic agents with known efficacy in adults lack the same evidence in children. Unlike adult DCM, the pathogenesis of pediatric DCM is not well understood as approximately two thirds of cases are classified as idiopathic disease. Children experience unique gene expression changes and molecular pathway activation in response to DCM. Studies have pointed to a significant genetic component in pediatric DCM, with variants in genes related to sarcomere and cytoskeleton structure implicated. In this regard, pediatric DCM can be considered pediatric manifestations of inherited cardiomyopathy syndromes. Yet exciting recent studies in infantile DCM suggest that this subset has a distinct etiology involving defective postnatal cardiac maturation, such as the failure of programmed centrosome breakdown in cardiomyocytes. Improved knowledge of pathogenesis is central to developing child-specific treatment approaches. This review aims to discuss the established biological pathogenesis of pediatric DCM, current clinical guidelines, and promising therapeutic avenues, highlighting differences from adult disease. The overarching goal is to unravel the complexities surrounding this condition to facilitate the advancement of novel therapeutic interventions and improve prognosis and overall quality of life for pediatric patients affected by DCM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ian Malinow
- Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Daniel C. Fong
- Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Matthew Miyamoto
- Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Sarah Badran
- Department of Pediatric Cardiology, Michigan State University College of Human Medicine Helen Devos Children’s Hospital, Grand Rapids, MI, United States
| | - Charles C. Hong
- Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, East Lansing, MI, United States
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Fullenkamp DE, Willis AB, Curtin JL, Amaral AP, Dittloff KT, Harris SI, Chychula IA, Holgren CW, Burridge PW, Russell B, Demonbreun AR, McNally EM. Physiological stress improves stem cell modeling of dystrophic cardiomyopathy. Dis Model Mech 2024; 17:dmm050487. [PMID: 38050701 PMCID: PMC10820750 DOI: 10.1242/dmm.050487] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2023] [Accepted: 11/22/2023] [Indexed: 12/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Heart failure contributes to Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), which arises from mutations that ablate dystrophin, rendering the plasma membrane prone to disruption. Cardiomyocyte membrane breakdown in patients with DMD yields a serum injury profile similar to other types of myocardial injury with the release of creatine kinase and troponin isoforms. Human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) are highly useful but can be improved. We generated hiPSC-CMs from a patient with DMD and subjected these cells to equibiaxial mechanical strain to mimic in vivo stress. Compared to healthy cells, DMD hiPSC-CMs demonstrated greater susceptibility to equibiaxial strain after 2 h at 10% strain. We generated an aptamer-based profile of proteins released from hiPSC-CMs both at rest and subjected to strain and identified a strong correlation in the mechanical stress-induced proteome from hiPSC-CMs and serum from patients with DMD. We exposed hiPSC-CMs to recombinant annexin A6, a protein resealing agent, and found reduced biomarker release in DMD and control hiPSC-CMs subjected to strain. Thus, the application of mechanical strain to hiPSC-CMs produces a model that reflects an in vivo injury profile, providing a platform to assess pharmacologic intervention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dominic E. Fullenkamp
- Center for Genetic Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
- Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
| | - Alexander B. Willis
- Center for Genetic Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
| | - Jodi L. Curtin
- Center for Genetic Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
| | - Ansel P. Amaral
- Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
| | - Kyle T. Dittloff
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60612, USA
| | - Sloane I. Harris
- Center for Genetic Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
| | - Ivana A. Chychula
- Center for Genetic Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
| | - Cory W. Holgren
- Center for Genetic Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
| | - Paul W. Burridge
- Department of Pharmacology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
| | - Brenda Russell
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60612, USA
| | - Alexis R. Demonbreun
- Center for Genetic Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
- Department of Pharmacology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
| | - Elizabeth M. McNally
- Center for Genetic Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
- Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
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Johnson R, Otway R, Chin E, Horvat C, Ohanian M, Wilcox JA, Su Z, Prestes P, Smolnikov A, Soka M, Guo G, Rath E, Chakravorty S, Chrzanowski L, Hayward CS, Keogh AM, Macdonald PS, Giannoulatou E, Chang AC, Oates EC, Charchar F, Seidman JG, Seidman CE, Hegde M, Fatkin D. DMD-Associated Dilated Cardiomyopathy: Genotypes, Phenotypes, and Phenocopies. CIRCULATION. GENOMIC AND PRECISION MEDICINE 2023; 16:421-430. [PMID: 37671549 PMCID: PMC10592075 DOI: 10.1161/circgen.123.004221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2022] [Accepted: 07/31/2023] [Indexed: 09/07/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Variants in the DMD gene, that encodes the cytoskeletal protein, dystrophin, cause a severe form of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) associated with high rates of heart failure, heart transplantation, and ventricular arrhythmias. Improved early detection of individuals at risk is needed. METHODS Genetic testing of 40 male probands with a potential X-linked genetic cause of primary DCM was undertaken using multi-gene panel sequencing, multiplex polymerase chain reaction, and array comparative genomic hybridization. Variant location was assessed with respect to dystrophin isoform patterns and exon usage. Telomere length was evaluated as a marker of myocardial dysfunction in left ventricular tissue and blood. RESULTS Four pathogenic/likely pathogenic DMD variants were found in 5 probands (5/40: 12.5%). Only one rare variant was identified by gene panel testing with 3 additional multi-exon deletion/duplications found following targeted assays for structural variants. All of the pathogenic/likely pathogenic DMD variants involved dystrophin exons that had percent spliced-in scores >90, indicating high levels of constitutive expression in the human adult heart. Fifteen DMD variant-negative probands (15/40: 37.5%) had variants in autosomal genes including TTN, BAG3, LMNA, and RBM20. Myocardial telomere length was reduced in patients with DCM irrespective of genotype. No differences in blood telomere length were observed between genotype-positive family members with/without DCM and controls. CONCLUSIONS Primary genetic testing using multi-gene panels has a low yield and specific assays for structural variants are required if DMD-associated cardiomyopathy is suspected. Distinguishing X-linked causes of DCM from autosomal genes that show sex differences in clinical presentation is crucial for informed family management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Renee Johnson
- Victor Chang Cardiac Rsrch Inst, Darlinghurst
- School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine & Health, UNSW Sydney, Kensington, NSW, Australia
| | - Robyn Otway
- Victor Chang Cardiac Rsrch Inst, Darlinghurst
| | - Ephrem Chin
- Dept of Human Genetics, Emory Univ School of Medicine, Atlanta GA
- PerkinElmer Genomics, PerkinElmer, Waltham
| | | | | | | | - Zheng Su
- School of Biotechnology & Biomolecular Sciences, Faculty of Science, UNSW Sydney, Kensington, NSW, Australia
| | - Priscilla Prestes
- Health Innovation & Transformation Ctr, Federation Univ Australia, Ballarat, Victoria, Australia
| | - Andrei Smolnikov
- School of Biotechnology & Biomolecular Sciences, Faculty of Science, UNSW Sydney, Kensington, NSW, Australia
| | | | | | - Emma Rath
- Victor Chang Cardiac Rsrch Inst, Darlinghurst
- School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine & Health, UNSW Sydney, Kensington, NSW, Australia
| | - Samya Chakravorty
- Dept of Human Genetics, Emory Univ School of Medicine, Atlanta GA
- Biocon Bristol Myers Squibb Rsrch & Development Ctr (BBRC), Bangalore, India
| | | | - Christopher S. Hayward
- Victor Chang Cardiac Rsrch Inst, Darlinghurst
- School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine & Health, UNSW Sydney, Kensington, NSW, Australia
- Cardiology Dept, St Vincent’s Hospital, Darlinghurst, NSW, Australia
| | - Anne M. Keogh
- Victor Chang Cardiac Rsrch Inst, Darlinghurst
- School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine & Health, UNSW Sydney, Kensington, NSW, Australia
- Cardiology Dept, St Vincent’s Hospital, Darlinghurst, NSW, Australia
| | - Peter S. Macdonald
- Victor Chang Cardiac Rsrch Inst, Darlinghurst
- School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine & Health, UNSW Sydney, Kensington, NSW, Australia
- Cardiology Dept, St Vincent’s Hospital, Darlinghurst, NSW, Australia
| | - Eleni Giannoulatou
- Victor Chang Cardiac Rsrch Inst, Darlinghurst
- School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine & Health, UNSW Sydney, Kensington, NSW, Australia
| | - Alex C.Y. Chang
- Dept of Cardiology & Shanghai Inst of Precision Medicine, Ninth People’s Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong Univ School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
- Baxter Laboratory for Stem Cell Biology, Dept of Microbiology & Immunology, Inst for Stem Cell Biology & Regenerative Medicine, Stanford Univ School of Medicine, Stanford, CA
| | - Emily C. Oates
- School of Biotechnology & Biomolecular Sciences, Faculty of Science, UNSW Sydney, Kensington, NSW, Australia
| | - Fadi Charchar
- Health Innovation & Transformation Ctr, Federation Univ Australia, Ballarat, Victoria, Australia
| | - Jonathan G. Seidman
- Dept of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
- Howard Hughes Medical Inst, Boston
| | - Christine E. Seidman
- Dept of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
- Cardiovascular Division, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston MA
| | - Madhuri Hegde
- Dept of Human Genetics, Emory Univ School of Medicine, Atlanta GA
- PerkinElmer Genomics, PerkinElmer, Waltham
| | - Diane Fatkin
- Victor Chang Cardiac Rsrch Inst, Darlinghurst
- School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine & Health, UNSW Sydney, Kensington, NSW, Australia
- Cardiology Dept, St Vincent’s Hospital, Darlinghurst, NSW, Australia
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Bogle C, Colan SD, Miyamoto SD, Choudhry S, Baez-Hernandez N, Brickler MM, Feingold B, Lal AK, Lee TM, Canter CE, Lipshultz SE. Treatment Strategies for Cardiomyopathy in Children: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association. Circulation 2023; 148:174-195. [PMID: 37288568 DOI: 10.1161/cir.0000000000001151] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
This scientific statement from the American Heart Association focuses on treatment strategies and modalities for cardiomyopathy (heart muscle disease) in children and serves as a companion scientific statement for the recent statement on the classification and diagnosis of cardiomyopathy in children. We propose that the foundation of treatment of pediatric cardiomyopathies is based on these principles applied as personalized therapy for children with cardiomyopathy: (1) identification of the specific cardiac pathophysiology; (2) determination of the root cause of the cardiomyopathy so that, if applicable, cause-specific treatment can occur (precision medicine); and (3) application of therapies based on the associated clinical milieu of the patient. These clinical milieus include patients at risk for developing cardiomyopathy (cardiomyopathy phenotype negative), asymptomatic patients with cardiomyopathy (phenotype positive), patients with symptomatic cardiomyopathy, and patients with end-stage cardiomyopathy. This scientific statement focuses primarily on the most frequent phenotypes, dilated and hypertrophic, that occur in children. Other less frequent cardiomyopathies, including left ventricular noncompaction, restrictive cardiomyopathy, and arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy, are discussed in less detail. Suggestions are based on previous clinical and investigational experience, extrapolating therapies for cardiomyopathies in adults to children and noting the problems and challenges that have arisen in this experience. These likely underscore the increasingly apparent differences in pathogenesis and even pathophysiology in childhood cardiomyopathies compared with adult disease. These differences will likely affect the utility of some adult therapy strategies. Therefore, special emphasis has been placed on cause-specific therapies in children for prevention and attenuation of their cardiomyopathy in addition to symptomatic treatments. Current investigational strategies and treatments not in wide clinical practice, including future direction for investigational management strategies, trial designs, and collaborative networks, are also discussed because they have the potential to further refine and improve the health and outcomes of children with cardiomyopathy in the future.
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