Targeting Calpain for Heart Failure Therapy: Implications From Multiple Murine Models

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Calpain is hyperactivated in human failing hearts and rodent heart failure models of different etiologies.

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Inhibition of calpain activity with MDL-28170 protects against cardiac dysfunction by preserving JP2 expression and T-tubule ultrastructural integrity in murine models of heart failure.

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Overexpression of JP2 delays the onset of early cardiac sudden death and heart failure, induced by calpain overactivation.

Heart failure remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality in developed countries. There is still a strong need to devise new mechanism-based treatments for heart failure. Numerous studies have suggested the importance of the Ca²⁺-dependent protease calpain in cardiac physiology and pathology. However, no drugs are currently under development or testing in human patients to target calpain for heart failure treatment. Herein the data demonstrate that inhibition of calpain activity protects against deleterious ultrastructural remodeling and cardiac dysfunction in multiple rodent models of heart failure, providing compelling evidence that calpain inhibition is a promising therapeutic strategy for heart failure treatment.