The mechanism of ions in pulmonary hypertension

Guogu Liu; Daiyan Fu; Heshen Tian; Aiguo Dai

doi:10.1177/2045894020987948

The mechanism of ions in pulmonary hypertension

Pulm Circ. 2021 Jan 27;11(1):2045894020987948. doi: 10.1177/2045894020987948. eCollection 2021 Jan-Mar.

Authors

Guogu Liu^{1

2}, Daiyan Fu², Heshen Tian^{1

2}, Aiguo Dai³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Graduate School, University of South China, Hengyang, China.
² Department of Respiratory Medicine, Hunan Provincial People's Hospital, Changsha, China.
³ Department of Respiratory Diseases, Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Changsha, China.

Abstract

Pulmonary hypertension（PH）is a kind of hemodynamic and pathophysiological state, in which the pulmonary artery pressure (PAP) rises above a certain threshold. The main pathological manifestation is pulmonary vasoconstriction and remodelling progressively. More and more studies have found that ions play a major role in the pathogenesis of PH. Many vasoactive substances, inflammatory mediators, transcription-inducing factors, apoptosis mediators, redox substances and translation modifiers can control the concentration of ions inside and outside the cell by regulating the activity of ion channels, which can regulate vascular contraction, cell proliferation, migration, apoptosis, inflammation and other functions. We all know that there are no effective drugs to treat PH. Ions are involved in the occurrence and development of PH, so it is necessary to clarify the mechanism of ions in PH as a therapeutic target for PH. The main ions involved in PH are calcium ion (Ca²⁺), potassium ion (K⁺), sodium ion (Na⁺) and chloride ion (Cl^-). Here, we mainly discuss the distribution of these ions and their channels in pulmonary arteries and their role in the pathogenesis of PH.

Keywords: Ca2+; Cl–; K+; Na+; PH.

Publication types

Review