Icam-1 promotes the abnormal endothelial cell phenotype in chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension

These findings bring new insight into the role of endothelial cells in the pathogenesis of CTEPH, highlighting the role of endothelial ICAM-1. We provide the first in vitro demonstration that ECs isolated from organized thrombus of CTEPH patients exhibit dysfunctional phenotype. Furthermore, our findings demonstrate that ICAM-1 overproduction by ECs induces a hyperproliferative and apoptosis-resistant EC phenotype via an autocrine loop. The KE and EE genotypes are more frequent in patients with CTEPH than controls but are not associated with disease severity, suggesting that ICAM-1 E469K polymorphism may play a role in the pathogenesis of CTEPH.
Source: The Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation - Category: Transplant Surgery Authors: Tags: Original Clinical Science Source Type: research