• Jongmin Kim, Yujung Kang, Yoko Kojima, Janet K Lighthouse, Xiaoyue Hu, Micheala A Aldred, Danielle L McLean, Hyekyung Park, Suzy A Comhair, Daniel M Greif, Serpil C Erzurum, and Hyung J Chun.
• Yale Cardiovascular Research Center, Section of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.
• Nat. Med. 2013 Jan 1;19(1):74-82.

AbstractPulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is characterized by vascular remodeling associated with obliteration of pulmonary arterioles and formation of plexiform lesions composed of hyperproliferative endothelial and vascular smooth-muscle cells. Here we describe a microRNA (miRNA)-dependent association between apelin (APLN) and fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2) signaling in pulmonary artery endothelial cells (PAECs). APLN deficiency in these cells led to increased expression of FGF2 and its receptor FGFR1 as a consequence of decreased expression of miR-424 and miR-503, which directly target FGF2 and FGFR1. miR-424 and miR-503 were downregulated in PAH, exerted antiproliferative effects in PAECs and inhibited the capacity of PAEC-conditioned medium to induce the proliferation of pulmonary artery smooth-muscle cells. Reconstitution of miR-424 and miR-503 in vivo ameliorated pulmonary hypertension in experimental models. These studies identify an APLN-dependent miRNA-FGF signaling axis needed for the maintenance of pulmonary vascular homeostasis.

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