Grant: Operating Grant

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is characterized by the progressive increase in pulmonary artery pressure and right heart failure. PAH predominantly affects young people between 20-60 years of age. Recent studies the importance of loss of the vascular bed of the lung, the heart and peripheral muscles that contributes to PAH progression, heart failure and exercise intolerance. The mechanisms accounting for this loss of blood vessels remain unknown. The proposed experiments will demonstrate that the reduced expression of miR-126 is central to disease progression, heart failure and exercise intolerance in PAH. MicroRNA are molecules that regulate the effects of genes. MiR-126 is largely involved in the formation of new vessels. Through several experiments in humans and rats, the current proposal will not only demonstrate the importance of miR-126 in PAH severity, but will also open the door to new avenues of investigation and potentially to future therapies in PAH.