Gene Therapy Using G Protein-Coupled Receptors for the Treatment of Cardiovascular Disease

Cardiovascular diseases are the most common cause of death worldwide, and despite advances in treatments, mortality rates still remain elevated. Heart failure prevalence is increasing and accounts for half a million deaths per year in the USA. Thus, there is an urgent need to develop new therapeutic strategies for heart failure patients, and gene therapy certainly is a promising one. Currently, clinical trials using virus-mediated gene transfer of molecular targets involved in heart failure pathophysiology are in progress. G protein-coupled receptors and the GPCR-related signaling molecules have proven to be a valuable potential target in heart failure therapy, as demonstrated by preclinical studies in animal models of the disease. The improvement in vector-related techniques and the development of new targets will lead in the next years to effective gene therapy clinical trials for heart failure patients.