Relationship between clinical data and gene expression in the HER2/ErbB2-dependent signaling pathway in patients with acute heart failure

A Meta-Analysis Approach to Gene Regulatory Network Inference Identifies Key Regulators of Cardiovascular Diseases

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) represent a major concern for global health, whose mechanistic understanding is complicated by a complex interplay between genetic predisposition and environmental factors. Specifically, heart failure (HF), encompassing dilated cardiomyopathy (DC), ischemic cardiomyopathy (ICM), and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), is a topic of substantial interest in basic and clinical research. Here, we used a Partial Correlation Coefficient-based algorithm (PCC) within the context of a meta-analysis framework to construct a Gene Regulatory Network (GRN) that identifies key regulators whose activity is perturbed in Heart Failure. By integrating data from multiple independent studies, our approach unveiled crucial regulatory associations between transcription factors (TFs) and structural genes, emphasizing their pivotal roles in regulating metabolic pathways, such as fatty acid metabolism, oxidative stress response, epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, and coagulation. In addition to known associations, our analysis also identified novel regulators, including the identification of TFs FPM315 and OVOL2, which are implicated in dilated cardiomyopathies, and TEAD1 and TEAD2 in both dilated and ischemic cardiomyopathies. Moreover, we uncovered alterations in adipogenesis and oxidative phosphorylation pathways in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and discovered a role for IL2 STAT5 signaling in heart failure. Our findings underscore the importance of TF activity in the initiation and progression of cardiac disease, highlighting their potential as pharmacological targets.

The roles of neuregulin-1 in cardiac development, homeostasis, and disease

Neuregulin-1 (NRG-1) and its signaling receptors, erythroblastic leukemia viral oncogene homologs (ErbB) 2, 3, and 4, have been implicated in both cardiomyocyte development and disease, as well as in homeostatic cardiac function. NRG-1/ErbB signaling is involved in a multitude of cardiac processes ranging from myocardial and cardiac conduction system development to angiogenic support of cardiomyocytes, to cardioprotective effects upon injury. Numerous studies of NRG-1 employ a variety of platforms, including in vitro assays, animal models, and human clinical trials, with equally varying and, sometimes, contradictory outcomes. NRG-1 has the potential to be used as a therapeutic tool in stem cell therapies, tissue engineering applications, and clinical diagnostics and treatment. This review presents a concise summary of the growing body of literature to highlight the temporally persistent significance of NRG-1/ErbB signaling throughout development, homeostasis, and disease in the heart, specifically in cardiomyocytes.