Viral Protein Mediators of HIV-Related Pulmonary Hypert*

描述（由申请人提供）：肺动脉高压（PAH）涉及肺血管的病理性重塑，经常导致严重残疾和死亡。HIV感染患者的PAH发生率高于预期。该提案将特别关注HIV-1感染患者中表达的病毒基因产物使宿主易患PAH的机制。此外，该提案将探讨目前用于治疗HIV-1的高效逆转录病毒疗法（HAART）对这些机制的调节作用。达特是HIV-1转录激活的重要调控蛋白。定义达特如何调节内皮细胞功能，促进PAH的发展，单独或与其他肽因子一起在体外和体内在HIV+患者血清中升高，是本提案的重点。重要的是，感染HIV的患者通常同时感染人类疱疹病毒-8（HHV-8）。已知HHV-8定位于肺内皮，与HIV相关的肺动脉高压（HRPH）和特发性肺动脉高压（iPAH）两者相关，并且表达诱导血管增生性疾病的病毒G蛋白偶联受体（vGPCR）。在该提议中要检验的中心假设是HHV-8 vGPCR与达特共同使个体易患HRPH。根据RFA的指示，该方法将研究HHV-8 vGPCR、达特和HAART对人肺血管内皮细胞和平滑肌细胞的影响。将使用PAH的鼠低压缺氧模型在体内评价体外研究结果的生物学意义，因为缺氧应激发生在AIDS患者中。这项提案汇集了4个NIH资助的研究人员的合作专业知识，具有互补的技能和经验，涉及血管生成，血管生物学和药理学，以解决这一重要的临床疾病。针对这些特定目标的实验将确定vGPCR、达特和HAART药物在HRPR开发中的作用，并促进我们对这种致命疾病发病机制的理解，这反过来将导致PAH的更有效治疗。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) involves pathological remodeling of the lung vasculature and frequently results in significant disability and death. Patients infected with HIV have a higher than expected incidence of PAH. This proposal will focus specifically on mechanisms through which viral gene products expressed in patients infected with HIV-1 predispose the host to develop PAH. In addition, this proposal will explore the modulatory effects of current highly active retroviral therapy (HAART) for the treatment of HIV-1 on these mechanisms. Tat is an essential regulatory protein responsible for transcriptional activation of HIV-1. Defining how Tat modulates endothelial cell function towards the development of PAH, alone or together with other peptide factors elevated in the serum of HIV+ patients, in vitro and in vivo, is a focus of this proposal. Importantly, patients infected with HIV are commonly co-infected with human herpesvirus-8 (HHV-8). HHV-8 is known to localize to the lung endothelium, is associated with both HIV-related pulmonary hypertension (HRPH) and idiopathic pulmonary artery hypertension (iPAH), and expresses a viral G-protein coupled receptor (vGPCR) that induces angioproliferative disease. The central hypothesis to be tested in this proposal is that HHV-8 vGPCR togther with Tat predispose an individual to develop HRPH. In keeping with the directives of this RFA, the approach will study the effects of HHV-8 vGPCR, Tat, and HAART on pulmonary vascular endothelial cells and smooth muscle cells derived from humans. The biological significance of findings from the in vitro studies will be evaluated in vivo using a murine hypobaric hypoxia model of PAH because hypoxic stress occurs in patients with AIDS. This proposal brings together the collaborative expertise of 4 NIH-funded investigators, with complementary skills and experience pertaining toangiogenesis, vascular biology, and pharmacology to address this important clinical malady. The experiments to address these Specific Aims will define the role of vGPCR, Tat and HAART drugs in the development of HRPR and advance our understanding of the pathogenesis of this fatal disease, which in turn will eventuate in more effective treatments for PAH.