Patients with heart failure (HF) have high morbidity and poor prognosis. To develop new treatments, better understanding of the mechanisms of myocardial function in normal and failing hearts and of HF development is needed. Several receptors (e.g. beta-adrenoceptors (βAR), 5-HT₄ serotonin receptors) increase cardiac contractile function through the cAMP signalling system. This response is energetically expensive and therefore detrimental in the long term and should be avoided in HF. Blocking βARs with betablockers is therefore important in HF treatment. While increased understanding can provide novel ways to reduce these signalling pathways, understanding of other types of cardiac signalling may reveal novel methods to improve cardiac function in heart failure. Recent development in understanding of receptor function has important implications also for understanding and treatment of other diseases.

• Signalling mechanisms regulating contractile function in normal and failing hearts
• Compartmentation of receptor-mediated cAMP and cGMP signalling in normal and failing hearts. Implications for treatment of heart failure
• Serotonin receptors and natriuretic peptide receptors as new targets for heart failure treatment
• Gene therapy with phosphodiesterases to treat heart failure
• New approaches to treatment of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction
• New understanding of receptor function: Functional selectivity and receptor-G protein interaction

Contact information:
Group leader Professor Finn Olav Levy Department of Pharmacology University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital PO Box 1057 Blindern NO-0316 Oslo, Norway, Tel: +47 22840237 E-mail: f.o.levy@medisin.uio.no