Monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors reduce cardiac hypertrophy and prevent heart failure
Description (Set) JHU scientists have developed a method to reduce heart muscle cell changes that lead to heart enlargement and congestive heart failure, using agents that inhibit monoamine oxidase (MAO) activity. MAO functions in normal metabolism as an oxidizing enzyme and is present in cardiac muscle cells. JHU scientists determined that increased MAO activity directly contributes to changes in cardiac muscle cells that result in abnormal heart enlargement (cardiac hypertrophy). MAO inhibitors are commercially available drugs commonly used to treat depressive disorders. JHU scientists found that administration of a specific MAO inhibitor to an animal model for cardiac hypertrophy reduced the biochemical, physiological and functional changes associated with development of pathologically enlarged heart muscle. Pathological cardiac hypertrophy and congestive heart failure present a significant social and economic burden to both individuals and society as a whole. There is a strong need for effective prophylactic and therapeutic agents to reduce maladaptive heart muscle changes. Therefore, MAO inhibitor based therapies are a promising pharmacological tool for the current drug armamentarium against heart hypertrophy and functional failure.• Targeting a specific cardiac pathology with MAO inhibitor may reduce side effects of less specific drugs to improve patient compliance.
• Use of a known drug for a heart therapy may require less development and toxicity testing so that an effective drug gets to the market faster. Proposed Use (Set) This technology can be commercialized to exploit a known pharmacologically acceptable MAO inhibitor agent for a therapeutic method to reduce and prevent cardiac hypertrophy.
Inventor(s): Kaludercic, Nina ,Feng, Ning ,Paolocci, Nazareno
Type of Offer: Licensing
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