EPAC-Targeted Therapies in Cardiovascular System- A Review

Asian Journal of Pharmaceutical and Health Sciences,2018,8,3,1928-1935.
Published:September 2018
Type:Review Article
Authors:
Author(s) affiliations:

Anusree S*, Soumya SP, Sinchu Yesudanam, Dr William Arputha SundarA S, Sam JeevakumarE

1Assistant Professor, Sreekrishna College of Pharmacy and Research Center, Trivandrum, Kerala, India.

2Principal, Sreekrishna College of Pharmacy and Research Center, Trivandrum, Kerala, India.

3Head of Department of Pharmacology, Sreekrishna College of Pharmacy and Research Center, Trivandrum, Kerala, India.

Abstract:

Exchange proteins directly activated by cyclic AMP(Epac) were discovered 10 years ago as new sensors for the second messenger cyclic AMP (cAMP). Epac family, including Epac1 and Epac2, are guanine nucleotide exchange factors for the Ras-like small GTPases Rap1 and Rap2 and function independently of protein kinase A. Given the importance of cAMP in the cardiovascular system, numerous molecular and cellular studies using specific Epac agonists have analyzed the role and the regulation of Epac proteins in cardiovascular physiology and pathophysiology.Epac contains an evolutionally conserved cAMP-binding domain that acts as a molecular switch for sensing intracellular second messenger cAMP levels to control diverse biological functions. Developing the ability to regulate cAMP-mediated signaling through Epac may lead to remarkable new therapies for the treatment of cardiac diseases.

Path way of EPAC activation