CELL SIGNALING IN PULMONARY VASCULAR CELLS - DO NOT SHOOT THE MESSENGER

Pulmonary hypertension is associated with pulmonary vascular remodelli ng, rendering the vessels unresponsive to vasodilators. An understandi ng of the mechanisms which cause this remodelling is required, which i s likely to be Linked to changes in vascular tone whether stimulated b y hypoxia or other factors. One way to approach this is to try to unde rstand the intracellular signalling pathways associated with hypoxia i n pulmonary artery cells. This understanding could provide opportuniti es for therapeutic intervention using agents which will interfere with the signalling systems.