Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide homeostasis and signalling in heart disease: Pathophysiological implications and...

Heart failure is a highly morbid syndrome generating enormous socio-economic costs. The failing heart is characterized by a state of deficient bioenergetics that is not currently addressed by classical clinical approaches. Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD(+)/NADH) is a major coenzyme for oxidoreduction reactions in energy metabolism; it has recently emerged as a signalling molecule with a broad range of activities, ranging from calcium (Ca(2+)) signalling (CD38 ectoenzyme) to the epigenetic regulation of gene expression involved in the oxidative stress response, catabolic metabolism and mitochondrial biogenesis (sirtuins, poly[adenosine diphosphate-ribose] polymerases [PARPs]). Here, we review current knowledge regarding alterations to myocardial NAD homeostasis that have been observed in various models of heart failure, and their effect on mitochondrial functions, Ca(2+), sirtuin and PARP signalling. We highlight the therapeutic approaches that are currently in use or in development, which inhibit or stimulate NAD(+)-consuming enzymes, and emerging approaches aimed at stimulating NAD biosynthesis in the failing heart.