Background-Heart failure is a typical age-associated disease. Although age-related changes of heart are likely to predispose aged people to heart failure, little is known about the molecular mechanism of cardiac aging. Methods and Results-We analyzed age-associated changes in murine heart and the manner in which suppression of the p110␣ isoform of phosphoinositide 3-kinase activity modified cardiac aging. Cardiac function declined in old mice associated with the expression of senescence markers. Accumulation of ubiquitinated protein and lipofuscin, as well as comprehensive gene expression profiling, indicated that dysregulation of protein quality control was a characteristic of cardiac aging. Inhibition of phosphoinositide 3-kinase preserved cardiac function and attenuated expression of the senescence markers associated with enhanced autophagy. Suppression of target of rapamycin, a downstream effector of phosphoinositide 3-kinase, also prevented lipofuscin accumulation in the heart. Conclusions-Suppression of phosphoinositide 3-kinase prevented many age-associated changes in the heart and preserved cardiac function of aged mice.

Background: Ezetimibe (Zetia ® ) is a potent inhibitor of cholesterol absorption that has been approved for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia. Statin, an inhibitor of cholesterol synthesis, is the first-choice drug to reduce low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) for patients with hypercholesterolemia, due to its strong effect to lower the circulating LDL-C levels. Because a high dose of statins cause concern about rhabdomyolysis, it is sometimes difficult to achieve the guideline-recommended levels of LDL-C in high-risk patients with hypercholesterolemia treated with statin monotherapy. Ezetimibe has been reported to reduce LDL-C safely with both monotherapy and combination therapy with statins.

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