Identification of a pharmacological inhibitor of Epac1 that protects the heart against acute and chronic models of cardiac stress

Recent studies reported that cAMP-binding protein Epac1-deficient mice were protected against various forms of cardiac stress, suggesting that pharmacological inhibition of Epac1 could be beneficial for the treatment of cardiac diseases. To test this assumption, we characterized an Epac1-selective inhibitory compound and investigated its potential cardioprotective properties.