English (United Kingdom)

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/featured_content/oa?rat=en

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/highlighted_journal/

Global: Zendy Plus annual

Presents the access of premium content as premium feature

Premium Content

Presents the keyphrase highlighting as premium feature

Keyphrase Highlighting

Presents the summarisation as premium feature

Summarisation

Insights

Presents the pdf analysis as premium feature

PDF Analysis

Presents the zaia usage as premium feature

ZAIA

Global: Zendy Tools annual

Global: Zendy Free Plan

Global: Zendy Tools monthly

Global: Zendy Plus monthly

Pulmonary (arterial) hypertension (PH/PAH) is a life-threatening cardiopulmonary disorder. Experimental evidence suggests involvement of inflammatory and autoimmune processes in pathogenesis of PH/PAH, however the triggering and disease-promoting mechanisms remain unknown. The complement system is a key arm of innate immunity implicated in various pro-inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, yet, surprisingly little is known about the role of complement in PH/PAH pathogenesis. The preponderance of the existing data associates complement with PH/PAH via analysis of plasma and does not study the lung directly. Therefore, we aimed to resolve this by analyzing both the mechanisms of local lung-specific complement activation and the correlation of dysregulated plasma complement to clinical outcome in PAH patients. In our recent studies, reviewed herein, we show, for the first time, that  immunoglobulin-driven activation of the complement cascade, specifically its alternative pathway, in the pulmonary perivascular areas, is a key mechanism initiating pro-inflammatory processes in the early stage of experimental hypoxic PH (a form of “sterile inflammation”). In human patients with end-stage PAH, we have demonstrated that perivascular deposition of immunoglobulin G (IgG) and activation of the complement cascade are “longitudinally” persistent in the disease. We also showed, using unbiased network analysis, that plasma complement signaling, including again the Alternative pathway, is a prognostic factor of survival in patients with idiopathic PAH (IPAH). Based on these initial findings, we suggest that vascular-specific, immunoglobulin-driven dysregulated complement signaling triggers and maintains pulmonary vascular remodeling and PH. Future experiments in this area would facilitate discoveries on whether complement signaling can serve both as a biomarker and therapeutic target in PH/PAH.

Inflammation, immunity, and vascular remodeling in pulmonary hypertension; Evidence for complement involvement?