Lab Anim Res.  2019 Dec;35(4):148-153. 10.1186/s42826-019-0021-1.

Involvement of immune responses in pulmonary arterial hypertension; lessons from rodent models

• Kim K
• Choi JH

• KMID: 2470011
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1186/s42826-019-0021-1

Abstract

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a pathological state with sustained elevation of pulmonary artery (PA) pressure. Since the pathogenesis of PH is mostly irreversible, the disease often comes up with poor prognosis. Pulmonary arterioles are affected by deteriorative changes, such as development of occlusive lesions of thickening of arterial walls. Such processes increase the pulmonary arterial pressure thus lead to consequent injuries such as right ventricle failure. Proliferation, or resistance to apoptosis of pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMC) and fibroblasts, are characteristic changes observed in the PA in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) patients. PAH can either occur idiopathically or come with other diseases. Emerging evidences suggest that pro-inflammatory processes are closely related to the development of PAH. Therefore, it is inferred that immune cells could be the key factors in PAH development. In this review, we summarize the way how each types of immune cells participate in PAH. We would also like to list the current rodent models used for PAH study.

Keyword

Pulmonary hypertension; Immune cells; Inflammation; Rodent models; Pulmonary arterial hypertension

MeSH Terms

Apoptosis
Arterial Pressure
Arterioles
Fibroblasts
Heart Ventricles
Humans
Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
Hypertension*
Hypertension, Pulmonary
Inflammation
Myocytes, Smooth Muscle
Prognosis
Pulmonary Artery
Rodentia*