American journal of physiology. Lung cellular and molecular physiology
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Am. J. Physiol. Lung Cell Mol. Physiol. · Feb 2015
Pulmonary artery smooth muscle cell endothelin-1 expression modulates the pulmonary vascular response to chronic hypoxia.
Endothelin-1 (ET-1) increases pulmonary vascular tone through direct effects on pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMC) via membrane-bound ET-1 receptors. Circulating ET-1 contributes to vascular remodeling by promoting SMC proliferation and migration and inhibiting SMC apoptosis. Although endothelial cells (EC) are the primary source of ET-1, whether ET-1 produced by SMC modulates pulmonary vascular tone is unknown. ⋯ SMC-specific ET-1 deletion attenuates hypoxia-induced increases in pulmonary vascular tone and structural remodeling. The observation that loss of ET-1 inhibited SMC proliferation, survival, and migration represents evidence that ET-1 derived from SMC plays a previously undescribed role in modulating the response of the pulmonary circulation to hypoxia. Thus PASMC ET-1 may modulate vascular tone independently of ET-1 produced by EC.
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Am. J. Physiol. Lung Cell Mol. Physiol. · Feb 2015
Editorial Historical ArticleEbola: history, treatment, and lessons from a new emerging pathogen.