Abstract 17314: Human Mesenchymal Stem Cell Therapy Reverses Sugen/Hypoxia-Induced Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension in Mice

Background: Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is characterized by progressive increase in pulmonary vascular resistance and right ventricular (RV) failure. This work evaluated the therapy with human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSC) in the Sugen 5416/hypoxia-induced PAH in mice. Methods: PAH was induced in C57BL/6 mice by exposure to 10% oxygen (4 wks) combined with the i.p. injection of Sugen (20 mg kg-1 weekly). After 2 wks, PAH was confirmed by echocardiography and 5x105 hMSCs (obtained from umbilical cord) were i.v. injected in hypoxic mice. Invasive right ventricular systolic pressure (RVSP), RV-to-body weight (RV/BW) ratio, and pulmonary arteries (PA) remodeling and hypertrophy were analyzed. Expression of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), caspase 3 and mitogen-activated protein kinase (p-p38 MAPK) was determined using western blot technique. Results: Ratio between pulmonary artery acceleration time and RV ejection time was significantly reduced in PAH mice and therapy with hMSC normalized this p...