Safety and effectiveness of interference RNA (RNAi) based therapeutics in cardiac failure: A systematic review

Heart failure is a major worldwide health concern and leading cause of mortality. RNAi interventions hold promise for patients resistant to conventional drugs due to their off-target effects and lack of specificity.

To examine the safety and effectiveness of RNAi therapeutics in treating heart failure.

The PubMed, Embase, Scopus and Cochrane databases were searched using appropriate keyword from inception until December 31, 2023. A total of 14 studies fulfilling predefined selection criteria were included for qualitative synthesis.

We found that in patients with cardiac amyloidosis, patisiran and revusiran showed considerable improvements in cardiac output and left ventricular wall thickness. In animal studies, Nox2-siRNA showed effectiveness in regaining heart function. Furthermore, cardiomyocyte count and left ventricular function were improved by DUSP5 siRNA + T3 therapy and meg3 inhibition after myocardial infarction (MI). RNAi showed minimal adverse effects like peripheral neuropathy, hepatotoxicity, urinary tract infection, vaginal infection, diarrhea, abdominal pain arrhythmias, conduction disorders, and cardiotoxicity (LV wall thinning, heart failure) and improved cardiac biomarkers.

RNAi therapeutics are novel treatment option for improving cardiac function because their high target specificity, ability to target genes that conventional drugs struggle to reach and potential for long-lasting effects. Further research on optimizing delivery methods, improving target specificity, evaluating long-term safety profiles and cost-effectiveness to fully realize their potential.