title: Nitrite Prevents Right Ventricular Failure and Remodeling Induced by Pulmonary Artery Banding.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Nitrite has been shown to reduce right ventricle (RV) remodeling in experimental pulmonary hypertension. However, whether this effect is due to a reduction in RV afterload (ie, reduction in pulmonary artery pressure) or a direct effect on the RV itself remains unanswered. We hypothesize that nitrite has direct effects on RV remodeling and studied its effects in mice with pulmonary artery banding (PAB).
  
  
  RESULTS
  PAB decreased exercise tolerance and reduced RV systolic and diastolic function. Nitrite treatment attenuated the decrease in RV systolic function and improved the RV diastolic function. Nitrite-treated mice with PAB had similar exercise tolerance compared with a control group. PAB induced RV hypertrophy and fibrosis which were associated with increased expression of phospho-Akt. Interestingly, nitrite treatment attenuated PAB-induced RV hypertrophy and reduced the expression of phospho-Akt in RV tissue from mice with PAB. In neonatal rat cardiac fibroblast, nitrite also attenuated hypoxia-induced increase in expression of phospho-Akt.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our study indicates that nitrite treatment has direct beneficial effects on RV and improves function and attenuates remodeling in RV exposed to chronic pressure overload. These beneficial effects, at least in part, could be due to the inhibition of the phospho-Akt (p-Akt) pathway activation.
authors.affiliation: *Heart, Lung, Blood, and Vascular Medicine Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA; and †Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA.
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Maryam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sharifi-Sanjani
authors.forename: Stevan P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Tofovic
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D009573:Nitrites / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D011651:Pulmonary Artery / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D018497:Ventricular Dysfunction, Right / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000517:prevention & control; D020257:Ventricular Remodeling / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D009573:Nitrites