Perivascular inflammation is a prominent pathologic feature in most animal models of pulmonary hypertension (PH) as well as in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) patients. Accumulating evidence suggests a functional role of perivascular inflammation in the initiation and/or progression of PAH and pulmonary vascular remodeling. High levels of cytokines, chemokines, and inflammatory mediators can be detected in PAH patients and correlate with clinical outcome. Similarly, multiple immune cells, including neutrophils, macrophages, dendritic cells, mast cells, T lymphocytes, and B lymphocytes characteristically accumulate around pulmonary vessels in PAH. Concomitantly, vascular and parenchymal cells including endothelial cells, smooth muscle cells, and fibroblasts change their phenotype, resulting in altered sensitivity to inflammatory triggers and their enhanced capacity to stage inflammatory responses themselves, as well as the active secretion of cytokines and chemokines. The growing recognition of the interaction between inflammatory cells, vascular cells, and inflammatory mediators may provide important clues for the development of novel, safe, and effective immunotargeted therapies in PAH.
Keywords: inflammation; pulmonary hypertension; vascular remodeling.