In pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) lung blood vessel cells grow excessively, increasing vascular resistance and ultimately leading to right heart failure. While researchers understand many molecular mechanisms behind pulmonary arterial hypertension, effective treatments remain limited.
Programmed cell death (PCD) plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of various diseases, including cancer, chronic conditions, cardiovascular disorders, and neurodegenerative ailments. The primary forms of programmed cell death include apoptosis, autophagy, pyroptosis, ferroptosis, and necroptosis.
The authors of a review recently published in the Journal of Pharmacology explain that an organism depends on continuously generating new cells and removing dead cells to achieve and maintain homeostasis and that, therefore, a comprehensive understanding of the processes underlying programmed cell death is imperative for formulating targeted strategies to modulate these pathways and enhance therapeutic efficacy in pulmonary arterial hypertension.
The review examines how different types of programmed cell death contribute to the disease, particularly in lung blood vessel cells, and explores their interactions. Understanding these mechanisms could lead to new diagnostic tools and targeted therapies for pulmonary arterial hypertension patients.
Read more at this link on Science Direct
Citation
Wan-Hong LI, Wan-Jing MA, Wei ZHANG, Shu-Ning ZHAO, Xin-Miao ZHAO, Chen-Hao MA, Ming-Ze Xi, Hui SUN, Programmed Cell Death: A Pivotal Player in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension, European Journal of Pharmacology, 2025, 177934, ISSN 0014-2999,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejphar.2025.177934.