Development of pulmonary arterial hypertension in mice over-expressing S100A4/Mts1 is specific to females

Background Idiopathic and familial forms of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) occur more frequently in women than men. However, the reason for this remains unknown. Both the calcium binding protein S100A4/Mts1 (Mts1) and its endogenous receptor (receptor for advanced glycosylation end products; RAGE) have been implicated in the development of PAH. We wished to investigate if the Mts1/RAGE pathway may play a role in the gender bias associated with PAH.