Project description:Rationale: Pulmonary arterial hypertension is a common and potentially fatal complication of scleroderma that may involve inflammatory and autoimmune mechanisms. Alterations in the gene expression of peripheral blood mononuclear cells have been previously described in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension. The ability to identify patients at risk for developing pulmonary hypertension would be clinically beneficial. Objective: To identify genes that are differentially expressed in peripheral blood mononuclear cells in scleroderma patients with and without pulmonary hypertension which could be used as biomarkers of disease for early diagnosis and provide insight into pathogenesis of pulmonary hypertension in at-risk populations. Methods and Results: Gene expression analysis was performed on a carefully characterized Microarray Cohort of scleroderma patients with (n=10) and without (n=10) pulmonary hypertension. Differentially expressed genes were confirmed in the Microarray Cohort and validated in a separate Validation Cohort of scleroderma patients with (n=15) and without (n=19) pulmonary hypertension by RT-qPCR. We identified inflammatory and immune-related genes including interleukin-7 receptor (IL-7R) and chemokine receptor 7 (CCR7) as differentially expressed in patients with scleroderma-associated pulmonary hypertension. Flow cytometry confirmed decreased expression of IL-7R on circulating CD4+ T cells from scleroderma patients with pulmonary hypertension. Conclusions: Differences exist in the expression of inflammatory and immune-related genes in peripheral blood cells derived from patients with scleroderma-related pulmonary hypertension compared to those with normal pulmonary artery pressures. These findings may have implications as biomarkers to screen at-risk populations to facilitate early diagnosis and provide insight into inflammatory and autoimmune mechanisms of scleroderma-related pulmonary hypertension. Gene expression analysis was performed on a carefully characterized Microarray Cohort of scleroderma patients with (n=10) and without (n=10) pulmonary hypertension. Differentially expressed genes were confirmed in the Microarray Cohort by RT-qPCR.
Project description:Rationale: Pulmonary arterial hypertension is a common and potentially fatal complication of scleroderma that may involve inflammatory and autoimmune mechanisms. Alterations in the gene expression of peripheral blood mononuclear cells have been previously described in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension. The ability to identify patients at risk for developing pulmonary hypertension would be clinically beneficial. Objective: To identify genes that are differentially expressed in peripheral blood mononuclear cells in scleroderma patients with and without pulmonary hypertension which could be used as biomarkers of disease for early diagnosis and provide insight into pathogenesis of pulmonary hypertension in at-risk populations. Methods and Results: Gene expression analysis was performed on a carefully characterized Microarray Cohort of scleroderma patients with (n=10) and without (n=10) pulmonary hypertension. Differentially expressed genes were confirmed in the Microarray Cohort and validated in a separate Validation Cohort of scleroderma patients with (n=15) and without (n=19) pulmonary hypertension by RT-qPCR. We identified inflammatory and immune-related genes including interleukin-7 receptor (IL-7R) and chemokine receptor 7 (CCR7) as differentially expressed in patients with scleroderma-associated pulmonary hypertension. Flow cytometry confirmed decreased expression of IL-7R on circulating CD4+ T cells from scleroderma patients with pulmonary hypertension. Conclusions: Differences exist in the expression of inflammatory and immune-related genes in peripheral blood cells derived from patients with scleroderma-related pulmonary hypertension compared to those with normal pulmonary artery pressures. These findings may have implications as biomarkers to screen at-risk populations to facilitate early diagnosis and provide insight into inflammatory and autoimmune mechanisms of scleroderma-related pulmonary hypertension.
Project description:The hypothesis tested in this study was that chronic exposure of PBMCs to a hypertensive environment in remodeled pulmonary vessels would be reflected by specific transcriptional changes in these cells. The transcript profiles of PBMCs from 30 idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension patients (IPAH), 19 patients with systemic sclerosis without pulmonary hypertension (SSc), 42 scleroderma-associated PAH patients (SSc-PAH), and 8 patients with SSc complicated by interstitial lung disease and PH (SSC-PH-ILD) were compared to the gene expression profiles of PBMCs from 41 healthy individuals. Gene expression is compared at a global level using total RNA from BPMC for pateints and controls using the Illumina microarray platform.
Project description:The hypothesis tested in this study was that chronic exposure of PBMCs to a hypertensive environment in remodeled pulmonary vessels would be reflected by specific transcriptional changes in these cells. The transcript profiles of PBMCs from 30 idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension patients (IPAH), 19 patients with systemic sclerosis without pulmonary hypertension (SSc), 42 scleroderma-associated PAH patients (SSc-PAH), and 8 patients with SSc complicated by interstitial lung disease and PH (SSC-PH-ILD) were compared to the gene expression profiles of PBMCs from 41 healthy individuals.
Project description:This experiment was performed using the following cohorts: 1) healthy controls, 2) patients with scleroderma at low risk for pulmonary hypertension, 3) pateints with scleroderma at high risk for pulmonary hypertension who underwent a catheterization and were found to have normal pressures, borderline elevated pressures or pulmonary arterial hypertensino (PAH). Whole blood was drawn directly into EDTA tubes at rest and again at peak exercise for each human subject. The samples were processed to plasma by MCRU and stored at -80 in the Biorepository.
Project description:This experiment was performed using the following cohorts: 1) healthy controls, 2) patients with scleroderma at low risk for pulmonary hypertension, 3) pateints with scleroderma at high risk for pulmonary hypertension. Whole blood was drawn directly into stop soilution (1:1 ratio) at rest and again at peak exercise for each human subject.
Project description:This experiment was performed using the following cohorts: 1) healthy controls, 2) patients with scleroderma at low risk for pulmonary hypertension, 3) pateints with scleroderma at high risk for pulmonary hypertension. Whole blood was drawn directly into stop soilution (1:1 ratio) at rest and again at peak exercise for each human subject.
Project description:Pediatric pulmonary hypertension is a heterogeneous disease associated with significant morbidity and mortality. MicroRNAs have been implicated as both pathologic drivers of disease and potential therapeutic targets in pediatric pulmonary hypertension. We sought to characterize the circulating microRNA profiles of a diverse array of pediatric pulmonary hypertension patients using high throughput sequencing technology. Peripheral blood samples were drawn from patients recruited at the time of a clinically indicated cardiac catheterization and microRNA sequencing followed by differential expression and target/pathway enrichment analyses were performed. Among 63 pediatric pulmonary hypertension patients, we identified specific microRNA signatures that uniquely classified patients by disease subtype, correlated with indicators of disease severity including invasive hemodynamic metrics, and changed over the course of treatment for pulmonary hypertension. These microRNA profiles include a number of specific microRNA molecules known to function in signaling pathways critical to pulmonary vascular biology and disease, including TGFβ beta, VEGF, PI3K/Akt, cGMP-PKG, and HIF-1 signaling. Circulating levels of miR-122-5p, miR-124-3p, miR-204-5p, and miR-9-5p decreased over the course of treatment in a subset of patients who had multiple samples drawn during the study period. Our findings support the further investigation of specific microRNAs as mechanistic mediators, biomarkers, and therapeutic targets in pulmonary hypertension.
Project description:This experiment was performed using the following cohorts: 1) healthy controls, 2) patients with scleroderma at low risk for pulmonary hypertension, 3) pateints with scleroderma at high risk for pulmonary hypertension (SSc Cath). Whole blood was drawn directly into stop soilution (1:1 ratio) at rest and again at peak exercise for each human subject. The samples were processed to plasma by MCRU and stored at -80 in the Biorepository.