Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
9.2
4.8
Journals
Biomolecules
Special Issues
Chronic Heart Failure: From Molecular Mechanisms to Therapies Strategies
share announcement

Chronic Heart Failure: From Molecular Mechanisms to Therapies Strategies

A special issue of Biomolecules (ISSN 2218-273X). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Medicine".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 February 2026 | Viewed by 5060

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Josep Comín-Colet

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Cardiology Department, Heart Institute, Bellvitge University Hospital, L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain
2. Bio-Heart Cardiovascular Diseases Research Group, Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain
3. Community Heart Failure Program, Cardiology Department, Bellvitge University Hospital, L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain
4. Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Cardiovasculares (CIBERCV), Instituto Salud Carlos III, 28029 Madrid, Spain
5. Department of Clinical Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
Interests: chronic heart failure; eHealth; telemedicine; transitional care; chronic care model
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Marta Tajes

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Bio-Heart Cardiovascular Diseases Research Group, Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain
2. Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Cardiovasculares (CIBERCV), Instituto Salud Carlos III, 28029 Madrid, Spain
Interests: heart failure; iron metabolism; biomarkers; molecular pathways

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Chronic heart failure (CHF) is a devastating syndrome with a very negative impact on mortality, morbidity, and the health-related quality of life of patients with this diagnosis. CHF also represents a challenge to healthcare systems due to its growing prevalence and to the rising medical resource use and expenditure associated with this syndrome.

The current understanding of its pathophysiology is based on the “neurohormonal hypothesis”, which states that CHF progression is promoted by the long-term maladaptive and deleterious effects of sustained neurohormonal activation in the heart and in the rest of the cardiovascular system. The inhibition of these neurohormonal systems has demonstrated a consistent reduction in morbidity and mortality in patients with systolic HF and is the basis of modern pharmacological treatment. However, these effective therapies have failed to promote a complete remission of symptoms and restore life expectancy in many patients.

This Special Issue will provide novel findings and innovations in the field of CHF pathophysiology, potential new biomarkers, and therapies. This understanding is essential for the development of early diagnostic tools, improved risk management strategies, and innovative prevention methods. A multidisciplinary and integrated management approach is essential to achieve such an ambitious challenge.

Dr. Josep Comín-Colet
Dr. Marta Tajes
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Biomolecules is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • chronic heart failure
  • pathophysiology
  • comorbidities
  • new therapies
  • molecular pathways

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (5 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Review

14 pages, 668 KB  
Article
Serum Growth Differentiation Factor 15 (GDF15) Levels Reflect Ischemic Etiology in Heart Failure Patients with Iron Deficiency: A Cross-Sectional Study
by Marta Tajes, Maria del Mar Ras-Jiménez, Josefa Girona, Raúl Ramos-Polo, Montse Guardiola, José Manuel García-Pinilla, Josep Ribalta, Marta Cobo-Marcos, Lluís Masana, Javier de Juan-Bagudá, Cândida Fonseca, Cristina Enjuanes, Manuel Vázquez-Carrera, Josep Comin-Colet and Ricardo Rodríguez-Calvo
Biomolecules 2025, 15(9), 1234; https://doi.org/10.3390/biom15091234 - 26 Aug 2025
Viewed by 473
Abstract
Heart failure (HF), particularly of an ischemic etiology, is steadily increasing worldwide. Non-anemic iron deficiency (ID) is highly prevalent among HF patients, and it has been related to worse outcomes. Growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15) has been related to atherosclerotic cardiovascular (CV) disease, [...] Read more.
Heart failure (HF), particularly of an ischemic etiology, is steadily increasing worldwide. Non-anemic iron deficiency (ID) is highly prevalent among HF patients, and it has been related to worse outcomes. Growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15) has been related to atherosclerotic cardiovascular (CV) disease, HF and iron pathophysiology. Nevertheless, the specific potential role of GDF15 in HF patients with ID has not been fully explored. In this cross-sectional study we determined serum GDF15 levels in 60 HF patients with ID from the IRON-PATH II study. The discriminative capacity of GDF15 in logistic regression models for classifying these patients according to ischemic etiology was defined as the primary endpoint. Additionally, relationships between GDF15 levels and impaired right ventricle function, impaired functional capacity and HF were included as secondary endpoints. GDF15 was inversely related to tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE) and the six-minute walking test (6MWT), and positively related to hallmarks of HF [i.e., N-terminal prohormone of brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP)] and other molecules influenced by HF progression [i.e., creatinine and ferritin]. Moreover, GDF15 was inversely related to hemoglobin, suggesting a potential link to iron homeostasis. Furthermore, GDF15 showed good classification capacity and improved the accuracy of a logistic regression model for ischemic HF classification in patients with ID. Overall, the findings of this study propose serum GDF15 levels as a potential tool for the classification of HF patients with ID according to the ischemic etiology. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Chronic Heart Failure: From Molecular Mechanisms to Therapies Strategies)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

18 pages, 1248 KB  
Article
Low Levels of Adropin Predicted New Incidents of Atrial Fibrillation in Patients with Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction
by Tetiana A. Berezina, Oleksandr O. Berezin, Evgen V. Novikov and Alexander E. Berezin
Biomolecules 2025, 15(8), 1171; https://doi.org/10.3390/biom15081171 - 15 Aug 2025
Viewed by 448
Abstract
Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is common complication of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) that sufficiently intervenes in the prognosis. The aim of the study is a) to investigate the possible discriminative value of adropin for newly onset AF in patients with [...] Read more.
Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is common complication of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) that sufficiently intervenes in the prognosis. The aim of the study is a) to investigate the possible discriminative value of adropin for newly onset AF in patients with HFpEF without a previous history of AF and who are being treated in accordance with conventional guideline and b) to compare it with predictive potencies of conventionally used predictors. Methods: A total of 953 patients with HFpEF who had sinus rhythm on ECG were enrolled in the study. The course of the observation was 3 years. Echocardiography and assessment of conventional hematological, biochemical parameters and biomarker assay including N-terminal brain natriuretic pro-peptide (NT-proBNP), high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), galectin-3, interleukin-6, soluble suppressor tumorigenisity-2 (sST2) and adropin, were performed at baseline. Results: Incident atrial fibrillation was found in 172 patients with HFpEF, whereas 781 had sinus rhythm. In unadjusted rough Cox regression model, age ≥ 75 years, type 2 diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney disease (CKD) stages 1–3, left atrial volume index (LAVI) ≥ 40 mL/m2, NT-proBNP ≥ 1440 pmol/mL, hs-CRP ≥ 5.40 mg/L, adropin ≤ 2.95 ng/mL, sST2 ≥ 15.5 ng/mL were identified as the predictors for new onset AF in HFpEF patients. After adjusting for age ≥ 75 years, a presence of type 2 diabetes mellitus and CKD stages 1–3, the levels of NT-proBNP ≥ 1440 pmol/mL and adropin ≤ 2.95 ng/mL were independent predictors of new onset AF in patients HFpEF. We also found that discriminative value of adropin was superior to NT-proBNP, while adding adropin to NT-proBNP did not improve predictive information of adropin alone. Conclusions: adropin ≤ 2.95 ng/mL presented more predictive information than NT-proBNP ≥ 1440 pmol/mL alone for new cases of AF in symptomatic patients with HFpEF, whereas the combination of both biomarkers did not improve the predictive ability of adropin alone. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Chronic Heart Failure: From Molecular Mechanisms to Therapies Strategies)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

17 pages, 3557 KB  
Article
The Role of Antigen Carbohydrate 125 in Modulating Soluble ST2: Prognostic-Related Effects in Acute Heart Failure
by Arancha Martí-Martínez, Julio Núñez, Herminio López-Escribano, Elena Revuelta-López, Anna Mollar, Marta Peiró, Juan Sanchis, Antoni Bayés-Genís, Arturo Carratala, Òscar Miró, Pere Llorens and Pablo Herrero-Puente
Biomolecules 2025, 15(4), 602; https://doi.org/10.3390/biom15040602 - 18 Apr 2025
Viewed by 630
Abstract
Background: Acute heart failure (AHF) is a complex syndrome associated with high mortality and hospital readmissions, characterized by volume overload and inflammation. Soluble ST2 (sST2) and antigen carbohydrate 125 (CA125) are emerging biomarkers that reflect these processes and may interact to influence long-term [...] Read more.
Background: Acute heart failure (AHF) is a complex syndrome associated with high mortality and hospital readmissions, characterized by volume overload and inflammation. Soluble ST2 (sST2) and antigen carbohydrate 125 (CA125) are emerging biomarkers that reflect these processes and may interact to influence long-term outcomes in AHF patients. This study aims to examine the prognostic relationship between sST2 and CA125 in predicting mortality and heart failure (HF)-related hospitalizations in patients with decompensated heart failure. Methods: In a cohort of 635 patients with AHF, we investigated whether the prognostic value of sST2 varies according to CA125 levels (≤35 vs. >35 U/mL). The endpoints were: (a) time to all-cause death, and (b) the combination of time to death or new HF admission. Results: This study of EAHFE registry data shows that the association between sST2 and long-term adverse outcomes (mortality and HF hospitalizations) in patients with AHF was differentially influenced by CA125 concentrations (p-value for interactions = 0.031 and 0.029, respectively). Higher sST2 was associated with the risk of death and the combined risk of death/HF readmission when CA125 was >35 U/mL [HR = 1.02 (CI 95%: 1.01–1.04), p = 0.006 and 1.02 (CI 95%: 1.01–1.03); p = 0.013 per increase in 10 ng/mL, respectively], but not when CA125 was ≤35 U/mL. Conclusions: This study highlights the prognostic interaction between sST2 and CA125 in AHF. Elevated sST2 predicts poor outcomes mainly in patients with high CA125 levels (>35 U/mL), suggesting CA125’s role in modulating inflammatory activity in HF. Further research is needed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Chronic Heart Failure: From Molecular Mechanisms to Therapies Strategies)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Research

56 pages, 1727 KB  
Review
From Natriuretic Peptides to microRNAs: Multi-Analyte Liquid Biopsy Horizons in Heart Failure
by Evelina Charidemou, Kyriacos Felekkis and Christos Papaneophytou
Biomolecules 2025, 15(8), 1189; https://doi.org/10.3390/biom15081189 - 19 Aug 2025
Viewed by 1546
Abstract
Heart failure (HF) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, underscoring the need for improved diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic strategies. Circulating microRNAs (c-miRNAs) have emerged as promising non-invasive biomarkers due to their stability, tissue specificity, and regulatory roles in cardiac pathophysiology. [...] Read more.
Heart failure (HF) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, underscoring the need for improved diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic strategies. Circulating microRNAs (c-miRNAs) have emerged as promising non-invasive biomarkers due to their stability, tissue specificity, and regulatory roles in cardiac pathophysiology. This review highlights the potential of c-miRNAs in enhancing HF diagnosis, risk stratification, and therapeutic monitoring, particularly when integrated with conventional biomarkers such as natriuretic peptides, galectin-3, soluble ST2, and high-sensitivity troponins. We explore the roles of key miRNAs in HF pathogenesis—including cardiac hypertrophy, fibrosis, inflammation, apoptosis, and vascular remodeling—and discuss their diagnostic and prognostic significance. The potential of multi-analyte liquid biopsy approaches that combine c-miRNAs with protein biomarkers is also examined within the context of precision medicine. Despite promising data, challenges related to standardization, assay variability, and clinical validation remain. Addressing these gaps through harmonized protocols and large-scale studies will be essential for translating c-miRNAs into routine HF management. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Chronic Heart Failure: From Molecular Mechanisms to Therapies Strategies)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

18 pages, 2505 KB  
Review
The Functional and Imaging Implications of Left Bundle Branch Pacing in Ischemic Cardiomyopathy
by Fulvio Cacciapuoti, Ciro Mauro, Ilaria Caso, Salvatore Crispo, Rossella Gottilla, Valentina Capone, Saverio Ambrosino, Ciro Pirozzi, Orlando Munciguerra and Mario Volpicelli
Biomolecules 2025, 15(4), 489; https://doi.org/10.3390/biom15040489 - 26 Mar 2025
Viewed by 1392
Abstract
Heart failure with reduced ejection fraction due to ischemic cardiomyopathy remains a significant clinical challenge. Electrical conduction delays exacerbate symptoms by causing uncoordinated contractions, reducing pumping efficiency, and increasing mortality. Right ventricular pacing further worsens dyssynchrony, while resynchronization therapy improves outcomes but has [...] Read more.
Heart failure with reduced ejection fraction due to ischemic cardiomyopathy remains a significant clinical challenge. Electrical conduction delays exacerbate symptoms by causing uncoordinated contractions, reducing pumping efficiency, and increasing mortality. Right ventricular pacing further worsens dyssynchrony, while resynchronization therapy improves outcomes but has a high non-responder rate. Given these limitations, bundle branch pacing engages the heart’s conduction system, restoring synchronized contraction and enhancing cardiac function. This review examines the impact of left-bundle-branch-block-induced dyssynchrony, the role of advanced imaging in assessing ventricular function, and the clinical outcomes of bundle branch pacing in heart failure patients. Specifically, we explore the mechanical and hemodynamic effects of left bundle branch block, imaging techniques for dyssynchrony evaluation, and the comparative benefits of bundle branch pacing versus resynchronization therapy. Conduction delays impair function, increase myocardial stress, and worsen clinical outcomes. Advanced imaging plays a critical role in patient selection, identifying those most likely to benefit from conduction system pacing. By restoring electrical coordination, bundle branch pacing enhances ventricular function, reduces hospitalizations, and promotes reverse remodeling. It offers similar or superior benefits to conventional resynchronization therapy, regulates stress hormones, reduces oxidative damage, and improves calcium handling. Bundle branch pacing represents a significant advancement in heart failure management, but careful patient selection remains crucial. Future research should focus on optimizing implantation techniques and validating long-term benefits through large-scale clinical trials. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Chronic Heart Failure: From Molecular Mechanisms to Therapies Strategies)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-5
Back to TopTop