Metabolomic heterogeneity of pulmonary arterial hypertension

PLoS One. 2014 Feb 12;9(2):e88727. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0088727. eCollection 2014.

Abstract

Although multiple gene and protein expression have been extensively profiled in human pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), the mechanism for the development and progression of pulmonary hypertension remains elusive. Analysis of the global metabolomic heterogeneity within the pulmonary vascular system leads to a better understanding of disease progression. Using a combination of high-throughput liquid-and-gas-chromatography-based mass spectrometry, we showed unbiased metabolomic profiles of disrupted glycolysis, increased TCA cycle, and fatty acid metabolites with altered oxidation pathways in the human PAH lung. The results suggest that PAH has specific metabolic pathways contributing to increased ATP synthesis for the vascular remodeling process in severe pulmonary hypertension. These identified metabolites may serve as potential biomarkers for the diagnosis of PAH. By profiling metabolomic alterations of the PAH lung, we reveal new pathogenic mechanisms of PAH, opening an avenue of exploration for therapeutics that target metabolic pathway alterations in the progression of PAH.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Citric Acid Cycle
  • Disease Progression
  • Fatty Acids / metabolism
  • Female
  • Glycolysis
  • Humans
  • Hypertension, Pulmonary / metabolism*
  • Lung / metabolism
  • Male
  • Metabolomics*
  • Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis
  • Oxidation-Reduction
  • Pulmonary Artery / metabolism*
  • Up-Regulation

Substances

  • Fatty Acids

Grants and funding

The authors have no support or funding to report.