Hypoxia-induced mitogenic factor (HIMF/FIZZ1/RELMalpha) induces the vascular and hemodynamic changes of pulmonary hypertension.

ABSTRACT: Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a serious disease of multiple etiologies mediated by hypoxia, immune stimuli, and elevated pulmonary pressure that leads to vascular thickening and eventual right heart failure. In a chronic hypoxia model of PH, we previously reported the induction of a novel pleiotropic cytokine, hypoxia-induced mitogenic factor (HIMF), that exhibits mitogenic, vasculogenic, contractile, and chemokine properties during PH-associated vascular remodeling. To examine the role of HIMF in hypoxia-induced vascular remodeling, we performed in vivo knockdown of HIMF using short hairpin RNA directed at rat HIMF in the chronic hypoxia model of PH. Knockdown of HIMF partially blocked increases in mean pulmonary artery pressure, pulmonary vascular resistance, right heart hypertrophy, an

SUBMITTER: Angelini DJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2670768 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature