Focusing on cardiac contractility is an intuitive complement to neurohormonal therapy1
Limitations of therapy that are active on neurohormonal pathways
SOC therapies typically target the neurohormonal pathways.1,2
- Increased plasma levels of several neurohormones have been associated with increased morbidity and mortality over time1,2

Why improvements to contractility may be a viable alternative to treating heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF)2
Sarcomeric contractility in a healthy heart2

Fluxes in intracellular Ca2+ reveal myosin binding sites on the actin filament

Myosin acts as a molecular motor that converts energy stored as ATP into a contractile force

Myosin and actin bind to create a crossbridge. Crossbridge cycling allows many myosin heads to work together to cause the sarcomere to contract
The potential for novel therapies that target contractility
In HFrEF, abnormalities in crossbridge cycling result in fewer myosin heads interacting with actin, which diminishes the force of contraction.4,5

Novel inotropes are being developed to target the sarcomere directly, without activating neurohormonal systems.2
- Myotropes target the sarcomere’s contractility via myosin, actin, and associated regulatory proteins2
- Mitotropes target the energy dependence of myocardial contraction and the metabolic deficiencies present in the myocardium of patients with HFrEF2
An important treatment goal is to reduce the number of heart failure events and symptoms, which can in turn improve quality of life1
HFrEF, heart failure with reduced ejection fraction; QoL, quality of life; SOC, standard of care.
References: 1. He H et al. Circ Heart Fail. 2022;15(3):e009195. 2. Psotka MA et al. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2019;73:2345-2353. 3. Hartupee et al. Nat Rev Cardiol. 2017;14(1):30-38. 4. Spudich JA. Biophys J. 2014;106:1236-1249. 5. Planelles-Herrero VJ et al. Nat Commun. 2017;8:190.