Beware of declining performance, chronic fatigue and swelling in the ankles – although these complaints are often dismissed as signs of aging, these are the first symptoms of heart failure. More than 40,000 sufferers in Germany die of this disease every year, but the exact causes have not yet been fully researched. A recent study now provides important insights.
Insulin-like growth factor affects heart health
As part of a research project Physicians from Med Uni Graz, in cooperation with an international team, decoded a crucial mechanism that increasingly restricts cardiac output in old age. The researchers focused on the so-called “insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) signaling pathway”. According to clinical experiments, these organic compounds contribute significantly regulation of growth and the metabolism. In addition, IGF-1 affects the force with which the heart contracts and mobilizes blood. Since increased activity of the IGF-1 receptor was often found in heart failure, the research team decided to take a closer look at this issue. “Previous experimental studies in mice have shown that increased IGF-1 receptor activation in the heart can have both negative and positive effects on cardiac function. Despite the great relevance of the cardiac IGF-1 signaling pathway to heart function, these controversial results remained unresolved for a long time,” explains Simon Sedej, head of the study.
Ambiguous Findings
To study the effects of varying degrees of IGF-1 receptor activation over a lifetime, the researchers used two mouse models with increased and decreased cardiac IGF-1 signaling activity, respectively. The scientists came to surprising conclusions: Young mice with increased IGF-1 signaling activity showed a healthy heart function which, however, rapidly deteriorated over the course of her life. Consequently, this test group was attested to have an increased risk of premature heart failure, which is associated with a lower life expectancy. The comparison group with reduced IGF-1 signaling activity was initially characterized by weak cardiac output, which, however, increasingly improved with age and thus favored a longer life expectancy.
Significant research basis created
The researchers draw the conclusion from the available results that high cardiac IGF-1 signaling activity in youth has a positive effect on heart health. In older individuals, however, reduced IGF-1 signaling activity is more likely to have health benefits and a higher life expectancy connected. The research team is satisfied with the findings: “Our study provides important insights into the crucial role of fine regulation of the cardiac IGF-1 signaling pathway: on the one hand for its benefits during the early stages of life and on the other hand to avoid harmful effects on the aging heart muscle “, concludes Simon Sedej.
The results would not only provide new perspectives for the Treatment of age-related heart failure open up, but also form a central basis for future research. In the course of further experiments, it will be discussed to what extent medicinal inhibitors of the IGF-1 signaling pathway, which are already used in cancer therapy, can prevent age-related cardiac insufficiency.
