title: Coupling Factor 6 Is Upregulated in Monocrotaline-induced Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension in Rats.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a rare and fatal disease. The prostacyclin (PGI2) pathway is a well-known therapeutic target for PAH. As a novel vasoconstrictive peptide, coupling factor 6 (CF6) has been recognized as the only endogenous inhibitor of PGI2. However, the relationship between CF6 and PAH is still unknown. In this study, we investigated the involvement of CF6 in PAH in rats.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 80 Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into 2 groups: a control group (with saline intraperitoneally) and a monocrotaline (MCT)-treated group (with MCT 60mg/kg intraperitoneal injection). The expression level of CF6 was measured by immunohistochemistry, reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The plasma level of 6-keto-PGF1α, a stable metabolite of PGI2, was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After MCT injection, although the plasma level of CF6 was markedly increased in a time-dependent manner, the level of 6-keto-PGF1αwas decreased in the MCT rats as compared to that in the controls (P < 0.05). Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction indicated that the lung tissue level of CF6 messenger RNA (mRNA) in the MCT rats was significantly upregulated compared to the level in the controls. There was an intense CF6 immunostain concentrated on the lung tissue of the MCT rats compared with the controls. Univariate analysis indicated that the plasma level of CF6 was not correlated with blood pressure, fasting blood glucose, cholesterol (high-density lipoprotein, triglycerides and total cholesterol) or C-reactive protein level.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results demonstrated that CF6 was elevated in MCT-induced PAH rats and may play an important role in the development of PAH.
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency, Shandong Provincial Qianfoshan Hospital, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, China.
authors.forename: Nannan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Shandong Provincial Qianfoshan Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, China.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency, Shandong Provincial Qianfoshan Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, China.
authors.forename: Weidong
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency, Shandong Provincial Qianfoshan Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, China.
authors.forename: Jingjing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency, Shandong Provincial Qianfoshan Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, China.
authors.forename: Na
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Shandong Provincial Qianfoshan Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, China.
authors.forename: Suhua
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.affiliation: Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shandong Provincial Qianfoshan Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, China.
authors.forename: Lucheng
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Shandong Provincial Qianfoshan Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, China; Department of Emergency, Shandong Provincial Qianfoshan Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, China. Electronic address: lixiaolu007@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Xiaolu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D011464:Epoprostenol / Q000097:blood*; D006439:Hemodynamics; D006976:Hypertension, Pulmonary / Q000097:blood* / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000503:physiopathology; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D025261:Mitochondrial Proton-Translocating ATPases / Q000097:blood*; D016686:Monocrotaline; D010086:Oxidative Phosphorylation Coupling Factors / Q000097:blood*; D011897:Random Allocation; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
chemical_list: D010086:Oxidative Phosphorylation Coupling Factors; D016686:Monocrotaline; D011464:Epoprostenol; C000628217:F(6) ATPase; D025261:Mitochondrial Proton-Translocating ATPases
keywords: Coupling factor 6; Prostacyclin; Pulmonary arterial hypertension