title: Sildenafil Reduces Inflammation and Prevents Pulmonary Arterial Remodeling of the Monocrotaline - induced Disease in the Wistar Rats.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a rare and severe disease with incompletely under stood pathogenesis. PAH is associated with pulmonary arterial remodeling and inflammation. We evaluated the effects of Sildenafil on the Monocrotaline (MCT) -induced disease in Wistar rats, for potential benefit in the early phases of inflammation and vascular remodeling.
  
  
  METHODS
  MCT-injected rats, MCT-injected sildenafil-treated rats (starting day 1 with 2 x 0.2 mg/day; total of 2 mg/kgc/day) and saline-injected control rats were evaluated at day 14 and day 28 following MCT for pulmonary morphological changes - lesions, inflammation (inflammator y index), arterial morphometry (hypertrophy index), immunohistochemistry for smooth muscle cell marker.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The administration of sildenafil following MCT significantly reduced the severity of inflammation in the acute stage of the disease (reduction of the inflammatory index by 6.038% (p <0.05)) and prevented pulmonary arterial remodeling (reduction of the hypertrophy index by 7.306% (p<0.001)). It also improved survival in the early phase with a mortality rate during the first 14 days of 4 in the MCT- exposed rats vs 1 in the MCT-exposed sildenafil-treated rate.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Early administration of sildenafil in the MCT experimental PAH improves inflammation and survival, and prevents pulmonary vascular remodeling. Our study suggests that one of the mechanisms involved, besides vasodilatation and anti-proliferative effect, could be a direct anti-inflammatory effect of sildenafil.
authors: "Carol Davila" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania.
authors: Stefan
authors: S
authors: Bogdan
authors: Andrei
authors: A
authors: Seferian
authors: Andreea
authors: A
authors: Totoescu
authors: Stefan
authors: S
authors: Dumitrache-Rujinski
authors: Mihai
authors: M
authors: Ceausu
authors: Cristin
authors: C
authors: Coman
authors: Carmen-Maria
authors: CM
authors: Ardelean
authors: Maria
authors: M
authors: Dorobantu
authors: Miron
authors: M
authors: Bogdan
keywords: inflammation; monocrotaline; pulmonary arterial hypertension; pulmonary arterial remodeling; sildenafil
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