title: Beneficial effect of dehydroepiandrosterone on pulmonary hypertension in a rodent model of pulmonary hypertension in infants.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a disease that affects the adult or infant population. Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), a steroid hormone, has been previously shown to prevent and to reverse PH in an adult rat model. We thus investigated its effect in a rat-pup model of chronic hypoxic PH.
  
  
  METHODS
  Animals were maintained for 3 wk in a hypobaric chamber to induce PH, with or without concomitant treatment with DHEA (30 mg/kg every alternate day).
  
  
  RESULTS
  DHEA significantly reduced mean pulmonary artery pressure (measured by right cardiac catheterization), pulmonary artery remodeling (evaluated by histology), and right-ventricular hypertrophy (measured by echography and by the Fulton index). At the level of the pulmonary artery smooth muscle cell (PASMC), DHEA increased activity and expression of the large-conductance Ca2+-activated potassium channel (BKCa) (assessed by means of the patch clamp technique). DHEA also inhibited both serotonin- and KCl-induced contraction and smooth muscle cell proliferation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Collectively, these results indicate that DHEA prevents PH in infant rats and may therefore be clinically relevant for the management of PH in human infants.
authors: Université de Bordeaux, Centre de Recherche Cardio-Thoracique, Bordeaux, France. edumasdlr@gmail.com
authors: Eric
authors: E
authors: Dumas de la Roque
authors: Jean-François
authors: JF
authors: Quignard
authors: Thomas
authors: T
authors: Ducret
authors: Diana
authors: D
authors: Dahan
authors: Arnaud
authors: A
authors: Courtois
authors: Hugues
authors: H
authors: Begueret
authors: Roger
authors: R
authors: Marthan
authors: Jean-Pierre
authors: JP
authors: Savineau
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D062186:Arterial Pressure / Q000187:drug effects; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D003687:Dehydroepiandrosterone / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006652:Histological Techniques; D006976:Hypertension, Pulmonary / Q000517:prevention & control*; D017380:Hypertrophy, Right Ventricular / Q000517:prevention & control; D051036:Large-Conductance Calcium-Activated Potassium Channels / Q000378:metabolism; D009119:Muscle Contraction / Q000187:drug effects; D032389:Myocytes, Smooth Muscle / Q000187:drug effects*; D018408:Patch-Clamp Techniques; D011651:Pulmonary Artery / Q000187:drug effects; D051381:Rats
chemical_list: D051036:Large-Conductance Calcium-Activated Potassium Channels; D003687:Dehydroepiandrosterone