Abstract Obstructive sleep apnea, characterized by intermittent periods of hypoxemia, is an independent risk factor for the development of pulmonary hypertension. However, the exact mechanisms of this disorder remain to be defined. Enhanced NADPH oxidase expression and superoxide (O2−·) generation in the pulmonary vasculature play a critical role in hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension. Therefore, the current […]
The neuronal circuit that generates breathing, the regulation of breathing, and its integration with other physiological systems is of utmost importance to human health. However, breathing abnormalities are common, and sleep apnea alone is estimated to affect 18 million in the United States. As one of the major complications of obesity, the prevalence of sleep […]
Background— Vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), a pulmonary vasodilator and inhibitor of vascular smooth muscle proliferation, has been reported absent in pulmonary arteries from patients with idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). We have tested the hypothesis that targeted deletion of the VIP gene may lead to PAH with pulmonary vascular remodeling. Methods and Results— We examined […]
