Endothelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition in an Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia-like Pediatric Case of Multiple Pulmonary Arteriovenous Malformations

Autor: Laura Lorente-Herraiz, Angel M. Cuesta, Lucía Recio-Poveda, Luisa M. Botella, Virginia Albiñana
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2024
Předmět:
Zdroj: International Journal of Molecular Sciences, Vol 25, Iss 11, p 6163 (2024)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 1422-0067
1661-6596
DOI: 10.3390/ijms25116163
Popis: Pulmonary arteriovenous malformations (PAVMs) are vascular anomalies resulting in abnormal connections between pulmonary arteries and veins. In 80% of cases, PAVMs are present from birth, but clinical manifestations are rarely seen in childhood. These congenital malformations are typically associated with Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia (HHT), a rare disease that affects 1 in 5000/8000 individuals. HHT disease is frequently caused by mutations in genes involved in the TGF-β pathway. However, approximately 15% of patients do not have a genetic diagnosis and, among the genetically diagnosed, more than 33% do not meet the Curaçao criteria. This makes clinical diagnosis even more challenging in the pediatric age group. Here, we introduce an 8-year-old patient bearing a severe phenotype of multiple diffuse PAVMs caused by an unknown mutation which ended in lung transplantation. Phenotypically, the case under study follows a molecular pattern which is HHT-like. Therefore, molecular- biological and cellular-functional analyses have been performed in primary endothelial cells (ECs) isolated from the explanted lung. The findings revealed a loss of functionality in lung endothelial tissue and a stimulation of endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition. Understanding the molecular basis of this transition could potentially offer new therapeutic strategies to delay lung transplantation in severe cases.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals
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