Transcriptomic Analysis Identifies the Effect of Beta-Blocking Agents on a Molecular Pathway of Contraction in the Heart and Predicts Response to Therapy

•Endomyocardial biopsy obtained from patients with new onset heart failure.•Patients are followed long-term to determine clinical outcome and prognosis.•Total RNA is purified from the endomyocardial biopsy specimen and subjected to microarray analysis.•Pathway discovery and development of transcriptomic biomarkers are determined that predict clinical response to beta-adrenergic antagonists.

SummaryOver the last decades, beta-blockers have been a key component of heart failure therapy. However, currently there is no method to identify patients who will benefit from beta-blocking therapy versus those who will be unresponsive or worsen. Furthermore, there is an unmet need to better understand molecular mechanisms through which heart failure therapies, such as beta-blockers, improve cardiac function, in order to design novel targeted therapies. Solving these issues is an important step towards personalized medicine. Here, we present a comprehensive transcriptomic analysis of molecular pathways that are affected by beta-blocking agents and a transcriptomic biomarker to predict therapy response.

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