Rho Kinase Mediate Hypoxic Pulmonary Arterial Smooth Muscle Cells Proliferation

Background:Pulmonary artery hypertension(PAH) is the inevitable consequence of pulmonary dysemia and pulmonary disfunction, and it is the key factor of pathogenesy in cor pulmonale. Both acute hypoxia and chronic hypoxia can induce hypoxic pulmonary hypertension(HPH), which is characterized by increased pulmonary vasoconstrictor sensitivity and pulmonary vascular remodeling.The proliferation and hypertrophy of PASMC are the major characteristics of pulmonary vascular remodeling. The proliferation of PASMC induced by hypoxia could be of great importantance in developmentof PAH.CGRP is a potent vasodilator neuropeptide , which is derived fromtissue-specific splicing of the primary transcript of the calcitonin/CGRP gene. It can block partly pulmonary vasoconstriction induced by hypoxia. Plasma CGRP concentrations decreased in rat with HPH, and significant negative correlations with pulmonary arterial pressure was shown. Chronic CGRP...