[Role of high-mobility group B1 in pulmonary arterial hypertension]

Abstract

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a fatal cardiovascular disease characterized by progressively increases of pulmonary vascular resistance and pulmonary arterial pressure, and finally leading to right heart failure. High-mobility group B1 (HMGB1) is a DNA-binding protein mainly expressed in the nucleus and has a variety of corresponding functions due to its diverse cellular localization. Recent studies have shown that HMGB1 is significantly up-regulated in the lungs of PAH patients, and its receptor signal transduction pathway promotes inflammatory response and pulmonary vascular remodeling to induce PAH. In addition, these multiple sites in HMGB1 and its receptor signal transduction pathway are expected to be the new targets for PAH therapy. In this paper, the inflammatory immune mechanism of PAH, the biological characteristics of HMGB1 and its main role in the occurrence and development of PAH are reviewed in order to discover the new treatment of PAH.