Novel Muscle Cell Involved in PH Pathogenesis
Researchers at the Yale Cardiovascular Research Center have identified a specialized cell type involved in pulmonary hypertension pathogenesis. The research paper, entitled “Smooth muscle cell progenitors are primed to muscularize in pulmonary hypertension,” was published in Science Translational Medicine.
Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a life-threatening condition characterized by increased blood pressure in the pulmonary arteries that carry blood from the heart to the lungs due to blockage, narrowing and capillary destruction. Although cellular and molecular mechanisms that lead to the onset of PH are still not fully understood, researchers have identified that there is smooth muscle cell proliferation in the lung blood vessels, often attributed to hypoxia (low oxygen).
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