In this study, we used a rat model of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) induced by monocrotaline (MCT) to investigate the role and mechanism of angiotensin (Ang)-(1-7) in regulating pulmonary artery diastolic function. Three weeks after subcutaneous injection of MCT or normal saline, the right ventricular systolic pressure (RVSP) and right ventricular hypertrophy index (RVHI) of rats were detected using a right heart catheter. Vascular endothelium-dependent relaxation was evaluated by acetylcholine (ACh)-induced vasodilation. The relaxation function of vascular smooth muscle was evaluated by sodium nitroprusside (SNP)-induced vasodilation. Human pulmonary artery endothelial cells (HPAECs) were incubated with Ang-(1-7) to measure nitric oxide (NO) release levels. The results showed that compared with control rats, RVSP and RVHI were significantly increased in the MCT-PAH rats, and both ACh or SNP-induced vasodilation were worsened. Incubation of pulmonary artery of MCT-PAH rats with Ang-(1-7) (1 × 10^-9-1 × 10^-4 mol/L) caused significant vaso-relaxation. Pre-incubation of Ang-(1-7) in the pulmonary artery of MCT-PAH rats significantly improved ACh-induced endothelium-dependent relaxation, but had no significant effect on SNP-induced endothelium-independent relaxation. In addition, Ang-(1-7) treatment significantly increased NO levels in HPAECs. The Mas receptor antagonist A-779 inhibited the effects of Ang-(1-7) on endothelium-dependent relaxation and NO release from endothelial cells. The above results demonstrate that Ang-(1-7) promotes the release of NO from endothelial cells by activating Mas receptor, thereby improving the endothelium-dependent relaxation function of PAH pulmonary arteries.
Rats ; Humans ; Animals ; Vasodilation ; Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension ; Monocrotaline/toxicity* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Hypertension, Pulmonary/chemically induced* ; Endothelial Cells ; Pulmonary Artery ; Endothelium ; Acetylcholine/pharmacology* ; Nitroprusside/pharmacology*

In this study, we investigated the effects of Panax notoginseng saponins (PNS) on pulmonary vascular remodeling and ADAM10/Notch3 pathway in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). PAH rat model was established, and male Sprague Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into control group, monocrotaline (MCT) group and MCT+PNS group, with 10 rats in each group. Rats in the control group were intraperitoneally injected with equal volume of normal saline. Rats in the MCT group was injected intraperitoneally with 60 mg/kg MCT on the first day, and then with the same volume of normal saline every day. Rats in the MCT+PNS group was injected intraperitoneally with 60 mg/kg MCT on the first day, and then with 50 mg/kg PNS every day. The modeling time of each group lasted for 21 days. After the model was established, the mean pulmonary artery pressure (mPAP) was measured by right heart catheterization technique, the right ventricular hypertrophy index (RVHI) was calculated, the microscopic morphology and changes of pulmonary vascular wall were observed by HE and Masson staining, and the expressions of ADAM10, Notch3, Hes-1, P27, PCNA, Caspase-3 proteins and mRNA in pulmonary vascular tissue of rats were detected by Western blot and qPCR. The expression and localization of Notch3 and α-SMA were detected by immunofluorescence staining. The protein expression of ADAM10 was detected by immunohistochemical staining. The results showed that compared with the control group, mPAP, RVHI, pulmonary vessels and collagen fibers in the MCT group were significantly increased, the expressions of ADAM10, Notch3, Hes-1, and PCNA protein and mRNA were significantly increased, while the expressions of P27 and Caspase-3 protein and mRNA were decreased significantly. Compared with the MCT group, mPAP and RVHI were significantly decreased, pulmonary vessels were significantly improved and collagen fibers were significantly reduced, the expressions of protein and mRNA of ADAM10, Notch3, Hes-1, and PCNA were decreased in MCT+PNS group, but the expressions of protein and mRNA of P27 and Caspase-3 were increased slightly. The results of immunofluorescence showed that Notch3 and α-SMA staining could overlap, which proved that Notch3 was expressed in smooth muscle cells. The expression of Notch3 in the MCT group was increased significantly compared with that in the control group, while PNS intervention decreased the expression of Notch3. Immunohistochemical staining showed that compared with the control group, the amount of ADAM10 in the MCT group was increased significantly, and the expression of ADAM10 in the MCT+PNS group was decreased compared with the MCT group. These results indicate that PNS can improve the PAH induced by MCT in rats by inhibiting ADAM10/Notch3 signaling pathway.
Animals ; Male ; Rats ; Caspase 3/metabolism* ; Collagen ; Disease Models, Animal ; Hypertension, Pulmonary/drug therapy* ; Monocrotaline/adverse effects* ; Panax notoginseng/chemistry* ; Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen/pharmacology* ; Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension ; Pulmonary Artery/metabolism* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Receptor, Notch3/genetics* ; RNA, Messenger ; Saline Solution ; Signal Transduction ; Saponins/pharmacology*

Humans ; Angioplasty, Balloon/adverse effects* ; Antithrombin III/metabolism* ; Chronic Disease ; Pulmonary Artery ; Pulmonary Embolism/etiology* ; Thromboembolism/therapy*

Humans ; Hypertension, Pulmonary/surgery* ; Learning Curve ; Angioplasty, Balloon ; Pulmonary Embolism/therapy* ; Chronic Disease ; Pulmonary Artery/surgery*

Objective: To summarize the clinical characteristics of bronchial-pulmonary artery fistula and evaluate the effect of interventional closure of bronchial-pulmonary artery fistula. Methods: A retrospective case study was conducted. Fifteen children with hemoptysis who were diagnosed with bronchial-pulmonary artery fistula in Beijing Children's Hospital, Capital Medical University from January 2018 to March 2022 were selected. Their clinical symptoms and chest-enhanced CT findings were recorded. The children who failed to improve after anti-infection and hemostasis treatment were treated with transcatheter embolization through microparticles under digital subtraction angiography (DSA). The efficacy and post-operation recurrence were evaluated. Results: There were 15 children, including 9 males and 6 females, aged 9.8 (3.7, 12.1) years, weighing 35 (16, 55) kg. There was hemoptysis of varying degrees before surgery. Only 2 children had decreased hemoglobin. Chest enhanced CT showed that their bronchial arteries were thickened and tortuous, including 11 cases of single vessel disease and 4 cases of multivessel disease; 11 children had varying degrees of pneumonia and 4 children had atelectasis. Except for one case effectively treated with medical therapy, the remaining 14 cases were all treated with transcatheter interventional closure with embolic microparticles, among whom 12 had their fistula completely blocked with a single operation and the other 2 children underwent multiple operations because of too many fistulas. One child had extensive bronchial-pulmonary artery fistula which failed to be blocked completely even after multiple operations. Among the remaining 13 children, only 2 patients whose fistula was considered to be completely closed had recurrence presenting with hemoptysis at 3 months and 2 years after the operation, and no hemoptysis was found after the second closure. All children were discharged without chest pain, spinal cord paraplegia, or other serious complications. Fourteen children were followed up for 1.4 (0.9,2.9) years, among whom one still has intermittent mild hemoptysis due to incomplete closure and the rest had a satisfactory outcome. Conclusions: Hemoptysis is the first symptom of bronchial-pulmonary artery fistula. For children with failed medical treatment, transcatheter closure with an embolic pellet is effective, safe and feasible, with a low recurrence rate.
Child ; Female ; Male ; Humans ; Pulmonary Artery ; Retrospective Studies ; Chest Pain ; Hemoptysis/therapy* ; Hospitals, Pediatric

Phenotypic transformation of pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) is a key factor in pulmonary vascular remodeling. Inhibiting or reversing phenotypic transformation can inhibit pulmonary vascular remodeling and control the progression of hypoxic pulmonary hypertension. Recent studies have shown that hypoxia causes intracellular peroxide metabolism to induce oxidative stress, induces multi-pathway signal transduction, including those related to autophagy, endoplasmic reticulum stress and mitochondrial dysfunction, and also induces non-coding RNA regulation of cell marker protein expression, resulting in PASMCs phenotypic transformation. This article reviews recent research progress on mechanisms of hypoxia-induced phenotypic transformation of PASMCs, which may be helpful for finding targets to inhibit phenotypic transformation and to improve pulmonary vascular remodeling diseases such as hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension.
Humans ; Pulmonary Artery ; Hypertension, Pulmonary ; Vascular Remodeling/genetics* ; Hypoxia/genetics* ; Myocytes, Smooth Muscle ; Cell Proliferation/physiology* ; Cells, Cultured ; Cell Hypoxia/genetics*

OBJECTIVES: To study the effect of platelet-derived growth factor-BB (PDGF-BB) on pulmonary vascular remodeling in neonatal rats with hypoxic pulmonary hypertension (HPH). METHODS: A total of 128 neonatal rats were randomly divided into four groups: PDGF-BB+HPH, HPH, PDGF-BB+normal oxygen, and normal oxygen (n=32 each). The rats in the PDGF-BB+HPH and PDGF-BB+normal oxygen groups were given an injection of 13 μL 6×10¹⁰ PFU/mL adenovirus with PDGF-BB genevia the caudal vein. After 24 hours of adenovirus transfection, the rats in the HPH and PDGF-BB+HPH groups were used to establish a neonatal rat model of HPH. Right ventricular systolic pressure (RVSP) was measured on days 3, 7, 14, and 21 of hypoxia. Hematoxylin-eosin staining was used to observe pulmonary vascular morphological changes under an optical microscope, and vascular remodeling parameters (MA% and MT%) were also measured. Immunohistochemistry was used to measure the expression levels of PDGF-BB and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) in lung tissue. RESULTS: The rats in the PDGF-BB+HPH and HPH groups had a significantly higher RVSP than those of the same age in the normal oxygen group at each time point (P<0.05). The rats in the PDGF-BB+HPH group showed vascular remodeling on day 3 of hypoxia, while those in the HPH showed vascular remodeling on day 7 of hypoxia. On day 3 of hypoxia, the PDGF-BB+HPH group had significantly higher MA% and MT% than the HPH, PDGF-BB+normal oxygen, and normal oxygen groups (P<0.05). On days 7, 14, and 21 of hypoxia, the PDGF-BB+HPH and HPH groups had significantly higher MA% and MT% than the PDGF-BB+normal oxygen and normal oxygen groups (P<0.05). The PDGF-BB+HPH and HPH groups had significantly higher expression levels of PDGF-BB and PCNA than the normal oxygen group at all time points (P<0.05). On days 3, 7, and 14 of hypoxia, the PDGF-BB+HPH group had significantly higher expression levels of PDGF-BB and PCNA than the HPH group (P<0.05), while the PDGF-BB+normal oxygen group had significantly higher expression levels of PDGF-BB and PCNA than the normal oxygen group (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS Exogenous administration of PDGF-BB in neonatal rats with HPH may upregulate the expression of PCNA, promote pulmonary vascular remodeling, and increase pulmonary artery pressure.
Rats ; Animals ; Hypertension, Pulmonary ; Becaplermin ; Animals, Newborn ; Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen ; Vascular Remodeling ; Pulmonary Artery/metabolism* ; Hypoxia ; Oxygen ; Cell Proliferation ; Myocytes, Smooth Muscle/metabolism*

Objectives: To analyze the reasons of missed diagnosis or misdiagnosis on anomalous origin of left coronary artery from pulmonary artery (ALCAPA) by echocardiography. Methods: This is a retrospective study. Patients with ALCAPA who underwent surgical treatment in Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology from August 2008 to December 2021 were included. According to the results of preoperative echocardiography and surgical diagnosis, the patients were divided into confirmed group or missed diagnosis/misdiagnosis group. The results of preoperative echocardiography were collected, and the specific echocardiographic signs were analyzed. According to the experience of the doctors, the echocardiographic signs were divided into four types, namely clear displayed, vague/doubtful displayed, no display and no notice, and the display rate of each sign was calculated (display rate=number of clearly displayed cases/total number of cases×100%). By referring the surgical data, we analyzed and recorded the pathological anatomy and pathophysiological characteristics of the patients, and the rate of missed diagnosis/misdiagnosis of echocardiography in patients with different characteristics was compared. Results: A total of 21 patients were enrolled, including 11 males, aged 1.8 (0.8, 12.3) years (range 1 month to 47 years). Except for one patient with anomalous origin of left anterior descending artery, the others were all originated from the main left coronary artery (LCA). There were 13 cases of ALCAPA in infant and children, and 8 cases of adult ALCAPA. There were 15 cases in the confirmed group (diagnostic accuracy was 71.4% (15/21)), and 6 cases in the missed diagnosis/misdiagnosis group (three cases were misdiagnosed as primary endocardial fibroelastosis, two cases were misdiagnosed as coronary-pulmonary artery fistula; and one case was missed diagnosis). The working years of the physicians in the confirmed group were longer than those in the missed diagnosis/misdiagnosed group ((12.8±5.6) years vs. (8.3±4.7) years, P=0.045). In infants with ALCAPA, the detection rate of LCA-pulmonary shunt (8/10 vs. 0, P=0.035) and coronary collateral circulation (7/10 vs. 0, P=0.042) in confirmed group was higher than that in missed diagnosis/misdiagnosed group. In adult ALCAPA patients, the detection rate of LCA-pulmonary artery shunt was higher in confirmed group than that in missed diagnosis/misdiagnosed group (4/5 vs. 0, P=0.021). The missed diagnosis/misdiagnosis rate of adult type was higher than that of infant type (3/8 vs. 3/13, P=0.410). The rate of missed diagnosis/misdiagnosis was higher in patients with abnormal origin of branches than that of abnormal origin of main trunk (1/1 vs. 5/21, P=0.028). The rate of missed diagnosis/misdiagnosis in patients with LCA running between the main and pulmonary arteries was higher than that distant from the main pulmonary artery septum (4/7 vs. 2/14, P=0.064). The rate of missed diagnosis/misdiagnosis in patients with severe pulmonary hypertension was higher than that in patients without severe pulmonary hypertension (2/3 vs. 4/18, P=0.184). The reasons with an echocardiography missed diagnosis/misdiagnosis rate of≥50% included that (1) the proximal segment of LCA ran between the main and pulmonary arteries; (2) abnormal opening of LCA at the right posterior part of the pulmonary artery; (3) abnormal origin of LCA branches; (4) complicated with severe pulmonary hypertension. Conclusions: Echocardiography physicians' knowledge of ALCAPA and diagnostic vigilance are critical to the accuracy of diagnosis. Attention should be paid to the pediatric cases with no obvious precipitating factors of left ventricular enlargement, regardless of whether the left ventricular function is normal or not, the origin of coronary artery should be routinely explored.
Male ; Adult ; Infant ; Child ; Humans ; Bland White Garland Syndrome/diagnostic imaging* ; Pulmonary Artery/diagnostic imaging* ; Retrospective Studies ; Missed Diagnosis ; Hypertension, Pulmonary ; Echocardiography ; Coronary Vessel Anomalies/diagnostic imaging*

BACKGROUND: Right ventricular (RV)-arterial uncoupling is a powerful independent predictor of prognosis in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). Coronary artery disease (CAD) can contribute to the pathophysiological characteristics of HFpEF. This study aimed to evaluate the prognostic value of RV-arterial uncoupling in acute HFpEF patients with CAD. METHODS: This prospective study included 250 consecutive acute HFpEF patients with CAD. Patients were divided into RV-arterial uncoupling and coupling groups by the optimal cutoff value, based on a receiver operating characteristic curve of tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion to pulmonary artery systolic pressure (TAPSE/PASP). The primary endpoint was a composite of all-cause death, recurrent ischemic events, and HF hospitalizations. RESULTS: TAPSE/PASP ≤0.43 provided good accuracy in identifying patients with RV-arterial uncoupling (area under the curve, 0.731; sensitivity, 61.4%; and specificity, 76.6%). Of the 250 patients, 150 and 100 patients could be grouped into the RV-arterial coupling (TAPSE/PASP >0.43) and uncoupling (TAPSE/PASP ≤0.43) groups, respectively. Revascularization strategies were slightly different between groups; the RV-arterial uncoupling group had a lower rate of complete revascularization (37.0% [37/100] vs . 52.7% [79/150], P <0.001) and a higher rate of no revascularization (18.0% [18/100] vs . 4.7% [7/150], P <0.001) compared to the RV-arterial coupling group. The cohort with TAPSE/PASP ≤0.43 had a significantly worse prognosis than the cohort with TAPSE/PASP >0.43. Multivariate Cox analysis showed TAPSE/PASP ≤0.43 as an independent associated factor for the primary endpoint, all-cause death, and recurrent HF hospitalization (hazard ratios [HR]: 2.21, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.44-3.39, P <0.001; HR: 3.32, 95% CI: 1.30-8.47, P = 0.012; and HR: 1.93, 95% CI: 1.10-3.37, P = 0.021, respectively), but not for recurrent ischemic events (HR: 1.48, 95% CI: 0.75-2.90, P = 0.257). CONCLUSION RV-arterial uncoupling, based on TAPSE/PASP, is independently associated with adverse outcomes in acute HFpEF patients with CAD.
Humans ; Prognosis ; Prospective Studies ; Stroke Volume/physiology* ; Echocardiography, Doppler/adverse effects* ; Coronary Artery Disease/complications* ; Heart Failure ; Pulmonary Artery/diagnostic imaging* ; Ventricular Function, Right/physiology* ; Ventricular Dysfunction, Right

OBJECTIVE: To explore the therapeutic mechanism of tanshinone IIA in the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in rats. METHODS: A total of 100 male SD rats were randomized into 5 groups (n=20), and except for those in the control group with saline injection, all the rats were injected with monocrotaline (MCT) on the back of the neck to establish models of pulmonary hypertension. Two weeks after the injection, the rat models received intraperitoneal injections of tanshinone IIA (10 mg/kg), phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase (PI3K) inhibitor (1 mg/kg), both tanshinone IIA and PI3K inhibitor, or saline (model group) on a daily basis. After 2 weeks of treatment, HE staining and α-SMA immunofluorescence staining were used to evaluate the morphology of the pulmonary vessels of the rats. The phosphorylation levels of PI3K, protein kinase B (PKB/Akt) and endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) in the lung tissue were determined with Western blotting; the levels of eNOS and NO were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). RESULTS: The results of HE staining and α-SMA immunofluorescence staining showed that tanshinone IIA effectively inhibited MCT-induced pulmonary artery intimamedia thickening and muscularization of the pulmonary arterioles (P < 0.01). The results of Western blotting showed that treatment with tanshinone IIA significantly increased the phosphorylation levels of PI3K, Akt and eNOS proteins in the lung tissue of PAH rats; ELISA results showed that the levels of eNOS and NO were significantly decreased in the rat models after tanshinone IIA treatment (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION Treatment with tanshinone IIA can improve MCT-induced pulmonary hypertension in rats through the PI3K/Akt-eNOS signaling pathway.
Abietanes ; Animals ; Hypertension, Pulmonary/drug therapy* ; Male ; Monocrotaline/toxicity* ; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type III/therapeutic use* ; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase/pharmacology* ; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases/metabolism* ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt/metabolism* ; Pulmonary Artery ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Signal Transduction