Arginine vasopressin receptor antagonists (vaptans): Pharmacological tools and potential therapeutic agents

Punniyakoti T. Veeraveedu, Suresh S. Palaniyandi, Ken'ichi Yamaguchi, Yutaka Komai, Rajarajan A. Thandavarayan, Vijayakumar Sukumaran, Kenichi Watanabe

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

28 Scopus citations

Abstract

The development of various non-peptide vasopressin receptor antagonists presents a new area of drug discovery for the treatment of heart failure and hyponatremia of multiple causes. Arginine vasopressin (AVP) attracted attention as a potentially important neurohormonal mediator of the heart failure (HF) syndrome and hyponatremic states in humans because AVP influences renal handling of free water, vasoconstriction and myocyte biology through activation of V2 and V1a receptors. Current research is exploring V2- and dual V1a/V2 receptor antagonism for the treatment of hyponatremia, as well as for the congestion and edema associated with chronic HF, because vasopressin receptor antagonists might offer benefits in comparison with conventional loop diuretics. The purpose of this review is to update the current status of experimental and clinical studies with available vasopressin receptor antagonists (conivaptan and tolvaptan) and their potential role in the treatment of HF and hyponatremia of multiple causes.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)826-841
Number of pages16
JournalDrug Discovery Today
Volume15
Issue number19-20
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 2010

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Pharmacology
  • Drug Discovery

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