Notch2 Suppression Mimicking Changes in Human Pulmonary Hypertension Modulates Notch1 and Promotes Endothelial Cell Proliferation

Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2021 Jul 23. doi: 10.1152/ajpheart.00125.2021. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTPulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a fatal cardiopulmonary disease characterized by increased vascular cell proliferation with resistance to apoptosis and occlusive remodeling of the small pulmonary arteries in humans. The Notch family of proteins are proximal signaling mediators of an evolutionarily conserved pathway that effect cell proliferation, fate determination, and development. In endothelial cells (ECs), Notch receptor 2 (Notch2) has been shown to promote endothelial apoptosis. However, a pro- or anti-proliferative role for Notch2 in pulmonary endothelial proliferation and ensuing PAH is unknown. Herein, we postulated that suppressed Notch2 signaling drives pulmonary endothelial proliferation in the setting of PAH. We observed that levels of Notch2 are ablated in lung and PA tissue samples from PAH patients compared to non-PAH controls. Interestingly, Notch2 expression was attenuated in human pulmonary artery endothelial cells (hPAECs) exposed to vasoactive factors including hypoxia, TGFβ, ET-1, and IGF-1. Gene silencing of Notch2 increased EC proliferation and reduced apoptosis. At the molecular level, Notch2-deficient hPAECs activated Akt, Erk1/2 and anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2, and reduced levels of p21cip and Bax. Intriguingly, loss of Notch2 elicits a paradoxical activation of Notch1 and transcriptional upregulation of canonical Notch target gene...
Source: American Journal of Physiology. Heart and Circulatory Physiology - Category: Physiology Authors: Source Type: research