GSK-3 is targeted by a number of drugs in development for several diseases, including bipolar disorder, Alzheimer's disease and diabetes.

"If these inhibitors make it to clinical trials, patients being treated with them would need to be closely watched, especially if they have diseases like hypertension or underlying heart disease," Dr. Force said. "They could run into trouble if their hearts are unable to respond to stressors due to the inhibition of GSK-3alpha."

Lastly, the researchers also found that when GSK-3beta was knocked out, the heart progenitor cells started to proliferate. This could potentially serve as the basis for a regenerative therapy approach for patients with heart failure, according to Dr. Force. Inhibiting GSK-3beta increased the proliferation of myocytes in the heart by five- to 10-fold.

jefferson/jmc/medicine/translational_medicine/