Unraveling the relationships between alpha- and beta-adrenergic modulation and the risk of heart failure

Claire Baudier, Françoise Fougerousse, Folkert W Asselbergs, Mickael Guedj, Michel Komajda, Dipak Kotecha, R. Thomas Lumbers, Amand F. Schmidt, Benoît Tyl*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

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Abstract

Background: The effects of α and ß adrenergic receptor modulation on the risk of developing heart failure (HF) remains uncertain due to a lack of randomized controlled trials. This study aimed to estimate the effects of α and ß adrenergic receptors modulation on the risk of HF and to provide proof of principle for genetic target validation studies in HF.

Methods: Genetic variants within the cis regions encoding the adrenergic receptors α1A, α2B, ß1, and ß2 associated with blood pressure in a 757,601-participant genome-wide association study (GWAS) were selected as instruments to perform a drug target Mendelian randomization study. Effects of these variants on HF risk were derived from the HERMES GWAS (542,362 controls; 40,805 HF cases).

Results: Lower α1A or ß1 activity was associated with reduced HF risk: odds ratio (OR) 0.83 (95% CI 0.74–0.93, P = 0.001) and 0.95 (95% CI 0.93–0.97, P = 8 × 10−6). Conversely, lower α2B activity was associated with increased HF risk: OR 1.09 (95% CI 1.05–1.12, P = 3 × 10−7). No evidence of an effect of lower ß2 activity on HF risk was found: OR 0.99 (95% CI 0.92–1.07, P = 0.95). Complementary analyses showed that these effects were consistent with those on left ventricular dimensions and acted independently of any potential effect on coronary artery disease.

Conclusions: This study provides genetic evidence that α1A or ß1 receptor inhibition will likely decrease HF risk, while lower α2B activity may increase this risk. Genetic variant analysis can assist with drug development for HF prevention.
Original languageEnglish
Article number1148931
Number of pages11
JournalFrontiers in cardiovascular medicine
Volume10
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 18 Oct 2023

Bibliographical note

Funding:
This study was funded by Servier and BigData@Heart that received funding from the Innovative Medicines Initiative2 Joint Undertaking under grant agreement No 116074, which received support from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program and the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations. FA is supported by University College London Hospitals National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre. RT is supported by a UK Research and Innovation Rutherford Fellowship hosted by Health Data Research UK (MR/S003754/1). DK is supported by the NIHR (203326 Birmingham Biomedical Research Centre; 130280/132974 DaRe2THINK), and the British Heart Foundation (BHF)/University of Birmingham Accelerator (AA/18/2/34218). The opinions expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not represent the BHF, NIHR, EU, EFPIA, or the UK Department of Health and Social Care.

Keywords

  • target validation, drug
  • Mendelian randomization
  • adrenergic receptors
  • alpha-blockers
  • beta-blockers

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