The role of microRNAs in pulmonary arterial hypertension

Role of miRNAs in endothelial cell dysfunction and angiogenesis: implications for pathobiology and therapy of pulmonary arterial hypertension

Dr Paola Caruso at the University of Cambridge will study changes in microRNAs in the endothelial cells of patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). PAH is characterized by high blood pressure in the lungs. Although the precise cause of PAH is unclear, it is associated with genetic mutations that effect the growth and behaviour of endothelial cells, cells that line the inside of blood vessels. In this study Dr Caruso will determine how mutations found in patients affect the production of very small RNA molecules, known as microRNAs. MicroRNAs alter the levels of proteins in and around cells, and could influence PAH by altering the behaviour of endothelial cells. Dr Paola Caruso plans to use endothelial cells from PAH patients to understand which microRNAs are effected in PAH and how they alter endothelial cell behaviour. She will also use animal models to establish whether introducing or removing the most important microRNAs can treat PAH.