Imatinib attenuates monocrotaline pulmonary hypertension and has potent vasodilator activity in pulmonary and systemic vascular beds in the rat

Cardiovascular responses to the tyrosine kinase inhibitor imatinib were investigated in the rat. Intravenous injections of 0.3–30 mg/kg imatinib produced small decreases in pulmonary arterial pressure, larger dose-dependent decreases in systemic arterial pressure, and no change or small increases in cardiac output, suggesting that the systemic vasodilator response is more pronounced under baseline conditions. When pulmonary arterial pressure was increased with U-46619 or Nω-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester (l-NAME), intravenous injections of imatinib produced larger dose-dependent decreases in pulmonary arterial pressure. Imatinib attenuated the acute hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstrictor response. Vasodilator responses to imatinib were not inhibited by meclofenamate, glybenclamide, or rolipram, suggesting that cyclooxygenase, ATP-sensitive K+ (KATP) channels, and cAMP were not involved in mediating the response. In a 21-day prevention study, imatinib treatment (50 mg/kg ip) attenuated the increase in pulmonary arterial pressure, right ventricular hypertrophy, and small vessel remodeling induced by monocrotaline. Imatinib reduced PDGF receptor phosphorylation and PDGF-stimulated thymidine incorporation in rat pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells. These data suggest that the beneficial effect of imatinib in pulmonary hypertension may involve inhibition of PDGF tyrosine kinase receptor-mediated effects on smooth muscle cell proliferation and on vasoconstrictor tone. These results indicate that imatinib has nonselective vasodilator activity in the pulmonary and systemic vascular beds similar to the Rho kinase inhibitor fasudil and the calcium entry antagonist isradipine. The present results are consistent with the hypothesis that imatinib may inhibit a constitutively active tyrosine kinase vasoconstrictor pathway in the pulmonary and systemic vascular beds in the rat.