Abstract.
The effect of administering prostaglandin E1 (PGE1) on the extent of monocrotaline (MCT)-induced pulmonary hypertension and cytokine production [interleukins (IL) 1 and 6 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)] by macrophages during MCT induction of pulmonary hypertension was studied. Right ventricle/left ventricle plus septum weight ratios (RV/LV + S) were used as an index of the development of pulmonary hypertension. Administering PGE1 at a dose of 0.2 mg/kg/day for 4 weeks reduced significantly the RV/LV + S ratio from 0.428 ± 0.070 to 0.243 ± 0.059 (p < 0.01) and decreased the production of these cytokines: IL-1, from 4.675 ± 3.558 to 1.800 ± 0.722 units; IL-6, from 0.322 ± 0.121 to 0.060 ± 0.039 units; and TNF, from 0.578 ± 0.369 to 0.004 ± 0.004 units. In another series of experiments, a significant reduction of the RV/LV + S ratio was noted for only 1 week when we administered PGE1 immediately after the injection of MCT. We confirmed that histopathologic improvements of lungs were noted by administering 0.2 mg/kg PGE1 for 4 weeks. In another experiment, PGE1 at a concentration of 2 μg/ml suppressed a rise in the cytosolic Ca2+ concentration of lipopolysaccharide-stimulated peritoneal macrophages of rats in vitro, suggesting that PGE1 suppressed cytokine production by macrophages through the suppression of the Ca2+ influx. These results suggest that administering PGE1 may be effective in the treatment of some forms of pulmonary hypertension in humans.
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Accepted for publication: 20 August 1998
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Sakuma, F., Miyata, M. & Kasukawa, R. Suppressive Effect of Prostaglandin E1 on Pulmonary Hypertension Induced by Monocrotaline in Rats. Lung 177, 77–88 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1007/PL00007632
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/PL00007632