scholarly journals Oxidative Stress, Kinase Activation, and Inflammatory Pathways Involved in Effects on Smooth Muscle Cells During Pulmonary Artery Hypertension Under Hypobaric Hypoxia Exposure

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia Siques ◽  
Eduardo Pena ◽  
Julio Brito ◽  
Samia El Alam

High-altitude exposure results in hypobaric hypoxia, which affects organisms by activating several mechanisms at the physiological, cellular, and molecular levels and triggering the development of several pathologies. One such pathology is high-altitude pulmonary hypertension (HAPH), which is initiated through hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction to distribute blood to more adequately ventilated areas of the lungs. Importantly, all layers of the pulmonary artery (adventitia, smooth muscle, and endothelium) contribute to or are involved in the development of HAPH. However, the principal action sites of HAPH are pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs), which interact with several extracellular and intracellular molecules and participate in mechanisms leading to proliferation, apoptosis, and fibrosis. This review summarizes the alterations in molecular pathways related to oxidative stress, inflammation, kinase activation, and other processes that occur in PASMCs during pulmonary hypertension under hypobaric hypoxia and proposes updates to pharmacological treatments to mitigate the pathological changes in PASMCs under such conditions. In general, PASMCs exposed to hypobaric hypoxia undergo oxidative stress mediated by Nox4, inflammation mediated by increases in interleukin-6 levels and inflammatory cell infiltration, and activation of the protein kinase ERK1/2, which lead to the proliferation of PASMCs and contribute to the development of hypobaric hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siriwan Sakarin ◽  
Anudep Rungsipipat ◽  
Sirilak Disatian Surachetpong

Abstract Background: Degenerative mitral valve disease (DMVD) is the most common cause of pulmonary hypertension (PH) in dogs. Medial thickening of the pulmonary artery is a major histopathological change in PH. A decrease in apoptosis of pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells (SMCs) may be the cause of medial thickening. This study aimed to demonstrate the expression of apoptosis molecules in the pulmonary artery of dogs affected with PH secondary to DMVD (DMVD+PH) compared to DMVD without PH (DMVD) and healthy dogs (control). Lung samples were collected from three groups including control (n=5), DMVD (n=7) and DMVD+PH (n=7) groups. Masson trichrome and apoptotic proteins including Bax, Bcl2 and caspase-3 and -8, were stained. Results: The medial thickness in the DMVD and DMVD+PH groups was greater than in the control group and it was greatest in the DMVD+PH group. Bax, Bcl2 and caspase-3 and -8 were expressed mainly in the medial layer of the pulmonary artery. The percentages of Bax and caspase-3 and -8 positive cells were higher in the DMVD group compared to the DMVD+PH group, whereas the percentage of Bcl2-positive cells was increased in the DMVD and DMVD+PH groups. These findings suggested that apoptosis of pulmonary arterial SMCs occurred mainly in the DMVD group and decreased dramatically in the DMVD+PH group. Conclusions: An increase in the medial thickness in dogs affected with PH secondary to DMVD may occur due to a decrease in apoptosis of pulmonary arterial SMCs.


Metabolites ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 87 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdulwahab Alamri ◽  
Abdulhadi Burzangi ◽  
Paul Coats ◽  
David Watson

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a multi-factorial disease characterized by the hyperproliferation of pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs). Excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation resulted in alterations of the structure and function of pulmonary arterial walls, leading to right ventricular failure and death. Diabetes mellitus has not yet been implicated in pulmonary hypertension. However, recently, variable studies have shown that diabetes is correlated with pulmonary hypertension pathobiology, which could participate in the modification of pulmonary artery muscles. The metabolomic changes in PASMCs were studied in response to 25 mM of D-glucose (high glucose, or HG) in order to establish a diabetic-like condition in an in vitro setting, and compared to five mM of D-glucose (normal glucose, or LG). The effect of co-culturing these cells with an ideal blood serum concentration of cholecalciferol-D3 and tocopherol was also examined. The current study aimed to examine the role of hyperglycemia in pulmonary arterial hypertension by the quantification and detection of the metabolomic alteration of smooth muscle cells in high-glucose conditions. Untargeted metabolomics was carried out using hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography and high-resolution mass spectrometry. Cell proliferation was assessed by cell viability and the [3H] thymidine incorporation assay, and the redox state within the cells was examined by measuring reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. The results demonstrated that PASMCs in high glucose (HG) grew, proliferated faster, and generated higher levels of superoxide anion (O2·−) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). The metabolomics of cells cultured in HG showed that the carbohydrate pathway, especially that of the upper glycolytic pathway metabolites, was influenced by the activation of the oxidation pathway: the pentose phosphate pathway (PPP). The amount of amino acids such as aspartate and glutathione reduced via HG, while glutathione disulfide, N6-Acetyl-L-lysine, glutamate, and 5-aminopentanoate increased. Lipids either as fatty acids or glycerophospholipids were downregulated in most of the metabolites, with the exception of docosatetraenoic acid and PG (16:0/16:1(9Z)). Purine and pyrimidine were influenced by hyperglycaemia following PPP oxidation. The results in addition showed that cells exposed to 25 mM of glucose were oxidatively stressed comparing to those cultured in five mM of glucose. Cholecalciferol (D3, or vitamin D) and tocopherol (vitamin E) were shown to restore the redox status of many metabolic pathways.


2019 ◽  
Vol 1865 (6) ◽  
pp. 1604-1616 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marius M. Zucker ◽  
Lukasz Wujak ◽  
Anna Gungl ◽  
Miroslava Didiasova ◽  
Djuro Kosanovic ◽  
...  

2007 ◽  
Vol 293 (2) ◽  
pp. L402-L416 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oleksandr Platoshyn ◽  
Ying Yu ◽  
Eun A Ko ◽  
Carmelle V. Remillard ◽  
Jason X.-J. Yuan

Hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction is caused by a rise in cytosolic Ca2+ ([Ca2+]cyt) in pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMC) via multiple mechanisms. PASMC consist of heterogeneous phenotypes defined by contractility, proliferation, and apoptosis as well as by differences in expression and function of various genes. In rat PASMC, hypoxia-mediated decrease in voltage-gated K+ (Kv) currents ( IK(V)) and increase in [Ca2+]cyt were not uniformly distributed in all PASMC tested. Acute hypoxia decreased IK(V) and increased [Ca2+]cyt in ∼46% and ∼53% of PASMC, respectively. Using combined techniques of single-cell RT-PCR and patch clamp, we show here that mRNA expression level of Kv1.5 in hypoxia-sensitive PASMC (in which hypoxia reduced IK(V)) was much greater than in hypoxia-insensitive cells (in which hypoxia negligibly affected IK(V)). These results demonstrate that 1) different PASMC express different Kv channel α- and β-subunits, and 2) the sensitivity of a PASMC to acute hypoxia partially depends on the expression level of Kv1.5 channels; hypoxia reduces whole-cell IK(V) only in PASMC that express high level of Kv1.5. In addition, the acute hypoxia-mediated changes in [Ca2+]cyt also vary in different PASMC. Hypoxia increases [Ca2+]cyt only in 34% of cells tested, and the different sensitivity of [Ca2+]cyt to hypoxia was not related to the resting [Ca2+]cyt. An intrinsic mechanism within each individual cell may be involved in the heterogeneity of hypoxia-mediated effect on [Ca2+]cyt in PASMC. These data suggest that the heterogeneity of PASMC may partially be related to different expression levels and functional sensitivity of Kv channels to hypoxia and to differences in intrinsic mechanisms involved in regulating [Ca2+]cyt.


2009 ◽  
Vol 297 (3) ◽  
pp. L475-L486 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergio de Frutos ◽  
Carlos H. Nitta ◽  
Elizabeth Caldwell ◽  
Jessica Friedman ◽  
Laura V. González Bosc

The nitric oxide/soluble guanylyl cyclase (sGC) signal transduction pathway plays an important role in smooth muscle relaxation and phenotypic regulation. However, the transcriptional regulation of sGC gene expression is largely unknown. It has been shown that sGC expression increases in pulmonary arteries from chronic hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertensive animals. Since the transcription factor NFATc3 is required for the upregulation of the smooth muscle hypertrophic/differentiation marker α-actin in pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells from chronically hypoxic mice, we hypothesized that NFATc3 is required for the regulation of sGC-α1 expression during chronic hypoxia. Exposure to chronic hypoxia for 2 days induced a decrease in sGC-α1 expression in mouse pulmonary arteries. This reduction was independent of NFATc3 but mediated by nuclear accumulation of the mRNA-stabilizing protein human antigen R (HuR). Consistent with our hypothesis, chronic hypoxia (21 days) upregulated pulmonary artery sGC-α1 expression, bringing it back to the level of the normoxic controls. This response was prevented in NFATc3 knockout and cyclosporin (calcineurin/NFATc inhibitor)-treated mice. Furthermore, we identified effective binding sites for NFATc in the mouse sGC-α1 promoter. Activation of NFATc3 increased sGC-α1 promoter activity in human embryonic derived kidney cells, rat aortic-derived smooth muscle cells, and human pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells. Our results suggest that NFATc3 and HuR are important regulators of sGC-α1 expression in pulmonary vascular smooth muscle cells during chronic hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension.


2017 ◽  
Vol 242 (5) ◽  
pp. 487-496 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthias Brock ◽  
Claudio Schuoler ◽  
Caroline Leuenberger ◽  
Carlo Bühlmann ◽  
Thomas J Haider ◽  
...  

Vascular remodeling, a pathogenic hallmark in pulmonary hypertension, is mainly driven by a dysbalance between proliferation and apoptosis of human pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells. It has previously been shown that microRNAs are involved in the pathogenesis of pulmonary hypertension. However, the role of long noncoding RNAs has not been evaluated. long noncoding RNA expression was quantified in human pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells using PCR arrays and quantitative PCR. Knockdown of genes was performed by transfection of siRNA or GapmeR. Proliferation and migration were measured using BrdU incorporation and wound healing assays. The mouse model of hypoxia-induced PH was used to determine the physiological meaning of identified long noncoding RNAs. The expression of 84 selected long noncoding RNAs was assessed in hypoxic human pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells and the levels of metastasis-associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1 (MALAT1) were significantly increased. Depletion of hypoxia-inducible factor 1α abolished the hypoxia-induced upregulation of metastasis-associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1 expression. Silencing of MALAT1 significantly decreased proliferation and migration of human pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells. In vivo, MALAT1 expression was significantly increased in lungs of hypoxic mice. Of note, targeting of MALAT1 by GapmeR ameliorated heart hypertrophy in mice with pulmonary hypertension. This is the first report on functional characterization of MALAT1 in the pulmonary vasculature. Our data provide evidence that MALAT1 expression is significantly increased by hypoxia, probably by hypoxia-inducible factor 1α. Intervention experiments confirmed that MALAT1 regulates the proliferative phenotype of smooth muscle cells and silencing of MALAT1 reduced heart hypertrophy in mice with pulmonary hypertension. These data indicate a potential role of MALAT1 in the pathogenesis of pulmonary hypertension. Impact statement Metastasis-associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1 (MALAT1) is a long noncoding RNA that mediates several biological processes. In the context of vascular biology, MALAT1 has been shown to be inducible by hypoxia and to control cell proliferation. These processes are of major importance for the pathophysiology of hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension (PH). Until now, the physiological role of MALAT1 in PH remains unclear. By using smooth muscle cells and by employing an established PH mouse model, we provide evidence that hypoxia induces MALAT1 expression. Moreover, depletion of MALAT1 inhibited migration and proliferation of smooth muscle cells, probably by the induction of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors. Of note, MALAT1 was significantly increased in mice exposed to hypoxia and silencing of MALAT1 ameliorated heart hypertrophy in mice with hypoxia-induced PH. Since vascular remodeling and right heart failure as a consequence of pulmonary pressure overload is a major problem in PH, these data have implications for our pathogenetic understanding.


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