ACVR2B as target for heart failure

INDICATION: Heart failure

Patient sample and mouse studies suggest inhibiting ACVR2B could help treat heart failure. In 50 adults with severe aortic stenosis and heart failure, high plasma levels of activin A, an ACVR2B ligand, were associated with disease progression. In mouse models of age-related heart failure and severe systolic heart failure, a murine version of the anti-ACVR2B mAb bimagrumab decreased pulmonary congestion and increased left ventricular contractility compared with an isotype control mAb. In the systolic heart failure model, pretreatment with the anti-ACVR2B mAb increased left ventricular contractility and survival. In a mouse model of age-related dilated cardiomyopathy, the anti-ACVR2B mAb or an ACVR2B-Fc fusion protein -- which acts as a soluble trap for ACVR2B ligands -- increased left ventricular contractility compared with the isotype control mAb or vehicle, respectively. Next steps could include testing the anti-ACVR2B mAb in models of other heart failure subtypes...