scholarly journals Fetal Gene Reactivation in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension: GOOD, BAD, or BOTH?

Cells ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 1473
Author(s):  
Sarah-Eve Lemay ◽  
Charifa Awada ◽  
Tsukasa Shimauchi ◽  
Wen-Hui Wu ◽  
Sébastien Bonnet ◽  
...  

Pulmonary arterial hypertension is a debilitating chronic disorder marked by the progressive obliteration of the pre-capillary arterioles. This imposes a pressure overload on the right ventricle (RV) pushing the latter to undergo structural and mechanical adaptations that inexorably culminate in RV failure and death. Thanks to the advances in molecular biology, it has been proposed that some aspects of the RV and pulmonary vascular remodeling processes are orchestrated by a subversion of developmental regulatory mechanisms with an upregulation of a suite of genes responsible for the embryo’s early growth and normally repressed in adults. In this review, we present relevant background regarding the close relationship between overactivation of fetal genes and cardiopulmonary remodeling, exploring whether the reawakening of developmental factors plays a causative role or constitutes a protective mechanism in the setting of PAH.

2020 ◽  
Vol 129 (2) ◽  
pp. 238-246 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yohei Akazawa ◽  
Kenichi Okumura ◽  
Ryo Ishii ◽  
Cameron Slorach ◽  
Wei Hui ◽  
...  

Although animal models of pulmonary arterial hypertension and pressure loading are important to study right ventricular (RV) pathophysiology, pulmonary arterial hypertension models cannot interrogate RV responses independent of pulmonary vascular effects. Comparing three commonly used rat models under similar elevated RV pressure, we found that all models resulted in comparable maladaptive RV remodeling and dysfunction. Thus, these findings suggest that the pulmonary artery banding model can be used to investigate mechanisms of RV dysfunction in RV pressure overload and the effect of potential therapies.


2019 ◽  
Vol 141 (9) ◽  
Author(s):  
Reza Avazmohammadi ◽  
Emilio A. Mendiola ◽  
David S. Li ◽  
Peter Vanderslice ◽  
Richard A. F. Dixon ◽  
...  

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) exerts substantial pressure overload on the right ventricle (RV), inducing RV remodeling and myocardial tissue adaptation often leading to right heart failure. The associated RV free wall (RVFW) adaptation involves myocardial hypertrophy, augmented intrinsic contractility, collagen fibrosis, and structural remodeling in an attempt to cope with pressure overload. If RVFW adaptation cannot maintain the RV stroke volume (SV), RV dilation will prevail as an exit mechanism, which usually decompensates RV function, leading to RV failure. Our knowledge of the factors determining the transition from the upper limit of RVFW adaptation to RV decompensation and the role of fiber remodeling events such as extracellular fibrosis and fiber reorientation in this transition remains very limited. Computational heart models that connect the growth and remodeling (G&R) events at the fiber and tissue levels with alterations in the organ-level function are essential to predict the temporal order and the compensatory level of the underlying mechanisms. In this work, building upon our recently developed rodent heart models (RHM) of PAH, we integrated mathematical models that describe volumetric growth of the RV and structural remodeling of the RVFW. The time-evolution of RV remodeling from control and post-PAH time points was simulated. The results suggest that the augmentation of the intrinsic contractility of myofibers, accompanied by an increase in passive stiffness of RVFW, is among the first remodeling events through which the RV strives to maintain the cardiac output. Interestingly, we found that the observed reorientation of the myofibers toward the longitudinal (apex-to-base) direction was a maladaptive mechanism that impaired the RVFW contractile pattern and advanced along with RV dilation at later stages of PAH. In fact, although individual fibers were more contractile post-PAH, the disruption in the optimal transmural fiber architecture compromised the effective contractile function of the RVFW, contributing to the depressed ejection fraction (EF) of the RV. Our findings clearly demonstrate the critical need for developing multiscale approaches that can model and delineate relationships between pathological alterations in cardiac function and underlying remodeling events across fiber, cellular, and molecular levels.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
M Suzuki ◽  
Y Tanaka ◽  
K Yamashita ◽  
A Shono ◽  
K Sumimoto ◽  
...  

Abstract Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: None. Background The haemodynamic effect of atrial septal defect (ASD) is a chronic volume overload of the right heart and pulmonary vasculature. Pulmonary overcirculation is generally compensated for by the right ventricular (RV) and pulmonary arterial (PA) reserve. However, in a subset of patients, prolonged pulmonary overcirculation insidiously induces obstructive pulmonary vasculopathy, which results in postoperative residual pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) after ASD closure. Postoperative PAH is a major concern because it is closely associated with poor outcomes and impaired quality of life. However, to date, no clinically robust predictors of postoperative residual PAH have been clearly identified. Purpose This study sought to assess the haemodynamic characteristics of ASD patients in terms of mechano-energetic parameters and to identify the predictors of postoperative residual PAH in these patients. Methods A total of 120 ASD patients (age: 58 ± 17 years) and 46 normal controls were recruited. As previously reported, the simplified RV contraction pressure index (sRVCPI) was calculated as an index of RV external work by multiplying the tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE) by the pressure gradient between the RV and right atrium. RV- PA coupling was evaluated using TAPSE divided by PA systolic pressure as an index of the RV length-force relationship. These parameters were measured both at baseline and 6 months after ASD closure. Results As expected, baseline sRVCPI was significantly greater in patients with ASD than in controls (775 ± 298 vs. 335 ± 180 mm Hg • mm, P < 0.01), which indicated significant "RV overwork". As a result, RV-PA coupling in ASD patients was significantly impaired compared to that in controls (0.9 ± 0.8 vs. 3.5 ± 1.7 mm/mm Hg, P < 0.01). All 120 ASD patients underwent transcatheter or surgical shunt closure; 15 of them had residual PAH after closure. After 6 months, RV-PA coupling index significantly improved in patients without residual PAH, from 0.96 ± 0.81 to 1.27 ± 1.24 mm/mm Hg (P = 0.02). Furthermore, RV load was markedly reduced, with sRVCPI falling from 691 ± 258 to 434 ± 217 mm Hg • mm, P < 0.01). However, in patients with residual PAH, RV-PA coupling index deteriorated from 0.64 ± 0.23 to 0.53 ± 0.12 mm/mm Hg (P < 0.01). As a result, RV overload was not significantly relieved (sRVCPI; from 971 ± 382 to 783 ± 166 mm Hg • mm, P = 0.22). In a multivariate analysis, baseline pulmonary vascular resistance (hazard ratio 1.009; P < 0.01) and preoperative sRVPCI (hazard ratio 1.003; P < 0.01) revealed to be independent predictors of residual PAH. Conclusion In terms of mechano-energetic function, preoperative "RV overwork" can be used as a robust predictor of an impaired RV-PA relationship in ASD patients. Moreover, periodic assessment of sRVPCI may contribute to the better management for patients with unrepaired ASD. Abstract Figure.


2018 ◽  
Vol 96 (3) ◽  
pp. 295-303 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rafaela Siqueira ◽  
Rafael Colombo ◽  
Adriana Conzatti ◽  
Alexandre Luz de Castro ◽  
Cristina Campos Carraro ◽  
...  

The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of ovariectomy on oxidative stress in the right ventricle (RV) of female rats with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) induced by monocrotaline (MCT). Rats were divided into 4 groups (n = 6 per group): sham (S), sham + MCT (SM), ovariectomized (O), and ovariectomized + MCT (OM). MCT (60 mg·kg−1 i.p.) was injected 1 week after ovariectomy or sham surgery. Three weeks later, echocardiographic analysis and RV catheterisation were performed. RV morphometric, biochemical, and protein expression analysis through Western blotting were done. MCT promoted a slight increase in pulmonary artery pressure, without differences between the SM and OM groups, but did not induce RV hypertrophy. RV hydrogen peroxide increased in the MCT groups, but SOD, CAT, and GPx activities were also enhanced. Non-classical antioxidant defenses diminished in ovariectomized groups, probably due to a decrease in the nuclear factor Nrf2. Hemoxygenase-1 and thioredoxin-1 protein expression was increased in the OM group compared with SM, being accompanied by an elevation in the estrogen receptor β (ER-β). Hemoxygenase-1 and thioredoxin-1 may be involved in the modulation of oxidative stress in the OM group, and this could be responsible for attenuation of PAH and RV remodeling.


2015 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 832-842 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emmy Manders ◽  
Silvia Rain ◽  
Harm-Jan Bogaard ◽  
M. Louis Handoko ◽  
Ger J.M. Stienen ◽  
...  

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a fatal lung disease characterised by progressive remodelling of the small pulmonary vessels. The daily-life activities of patients with PAH are severely limited by exertional fatigue and dyspnoea. Typically, these symptoms have been explained by right heart failure. However, an increasing number of studies reveal that the impact of the PAH reaches further than the pulmonary circulation. Striated muscles other than the right ventricle are affected in PAH, such as the left ventricle, the diaphragm and peripheral skeletal muscles. Alterations in these striated muscles are associated with exercise intolerance and reduced quality of life. In this Back to Basics article on striated muscle function in PAH, we provide insight into the pathophysiological mechanisms causing muscle dysfunction in PAH and discuss potential new therapeutic strategies to restore muscle dysfunction.


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