Published in

American Physiological Society, American Journal of Physiology - Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology, 4(304), p. L264-L275, 2013

DOI: 10.1152/ajplung.00073.2012

Links

Tools

Export citation

Search in Google Scholar

Ambrisentan reduces pulmonary arterial hypertension but does not stimulate alveolar and vascular development in neonatal rats with hyperoxic lung injury

This paper is available in a repository.
This paper is available in a repository.

Full text: Download

Green circle
Preprint: archiving allowed
Orange circle
Postprint: archiving restricted
Red circle
Published version: archiving forbidden
Data provided by SHERPA/RoMEO

Abstract

Ambrisentan, an endothelin receptor type A antagonist, may be a novel therapeutic agent in neonatal chronic lung disease (CLD) by blocking the adverse effects of the vasoconstrictor endothelin-1, especially pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH)-induced right ventricular hypertrophy (RVH). We determined the cardiopulmonary effects of ambrisentan treatment (1–20 mg·kg−1·day−1) in neonatal rats with CLD in 2 models: early treatment during continuous exposure to hyperoxia for 10 days and late treatment starting on day 6 in rat pups exposed postnatally to hyperoxia for 9 days, followed by a 9-day recovery period in room air. Parameters investigated included survival, lung and heart histopathology, right ventricular function, fibrin deposition, and differential mRNA expression in the lungs. In the early treatment model, we investigated the role of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibition with Nω-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester (l-NAME; 25 mg·kg−1·day−1) during ambrisentan treatment. In the early treatment model, ambrisentan improved survival with reduced lung fibrin and collagen III deposition, arterial medial wall thickness, and RVH. These changes were not affected by l-NAME administration. Ambrisentan did not reduce the influx of macrophages and neutrophils or prevent reduced irregular elastin expression. In the late treatment model, ambrisentan diminished PAH, RVH, and right ventricular peak pressure, demonstrating that RVH is reversible in the neonatal period. Alveolarization and vascularization were not affected by ambrisentan. In conclusion, ambrisentan prolongs survival and reduces lung injury, PAH, and RVH via a NOS-independent mechanism but does not affect inflammation and alveolar and vascular development in neonatal rats with CLD.