Cardiovascular pharmacogenetics of antihypertensive and lipid- lowering therapies

Recent changes to the clinical management guidelines for hypertension and hyperlipidemia have placed emphasis on prevention through the pharmacological control and reduction of cardiovascular risk factors. In conjunction with proper diet and lifestyle changes, such risk factor control necessitates the use of safe and effective pharmacotherapy. However, many patients fail to reach or maintain therapeutic goals due to inadequacy and/or variability in response to antihypertensive and lipid-lowering medications. Thus, given the contribution of both hypertension and hyperlipidemia in the development and progression of cardiovascular disease, a personalized approach to pharmacotherapy, as well as disease prevention, seems particularly prudent. With the advancement of cardiovascular pharmacogenetics, the aim is to identify genetic biomarkers of drug-response and disease-susceptibility in order to make informed and individualized decisions, improving patient care through proper drug selection and dosing.

Characterization of the distinct orthotopic bone-forming activity of 14 BMPs using recombinant adenovirus-mediated gene delivery

Efficacious bone regeneration could revolutionize the clinical management of bone and musculoskeletal disorders. Although several bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) (mostly BMP-2 and BMP-7) have been shown to induce bone formation, it is unclear whether the currently used BMPs represent the most osteogenic ones. Until recently, comprehensive analysis of osteogenic activity of all BMPs has been hampered by the fact that recombinant proteins are either not biologically active or not available for all BMPs. In this study, we used recombinant adenoviruses expressing the 14 types of BMPs (AdBMPs), and demonstrated that, in addition to currently used BMP-2 and BMP-7, BMP-6 and BMP-9 effectively induced orthotopic ossification when either AdBMP-transduced osteoblast progenitors or the viral vectors were injected into the quadriceps of athymic mice. Radiographic and histological evaluation demonstrated that BMP-6 and BMP-9 induced the most robust and mature ossification at multiple time points. BMP-3, a negative regulator of bone formation, was shown to effectively inhibit orthotopic ossification induced by BMP-2, BMP-6, and BMP-7. However, BMP-3 exerted no inhibitory effect on BMP-9-induced bone formation, suggesting that BMP-9 may transduce osteogenic signaling differently. Our findings suggest that BMP-6 and BMP-9 may represent more effective osteogenic factors for bone regeneration.