De novo synthesis of bile acids via CYP7B1 is upregulated in PAH lungs, suggesting a novel metabolic pathway involved in the pathogenesis of pulmonary arterial hypertension.
Although multiple, complex molecular studies have been done for understanding the development and progression of pulmonary hypertension (PAH), little is known about the metabolic heterogeneity of PAH. Using a combination of high-throughput liquid-and-gas-chromatography-based mass spectrometry, we found bile acid metabolites, which are normally product derivatives of the liver and gallbladder, were highly increased in the PAH lung. Microarray showed that the gene encoding cytochrome P450 7B1 (CYP7B1), an isozyme for bile acid synthesis, was highly expressed in the PAH lung compared with the control. CYP7B1 protein was found to be primarily localized on pulmonary vascular endothelial cells suggesting de novo bile acid synthesis may be involved in the development of PAH. Here, by profiling the metabolomic heterogeneity of the PAH lung, we reveal a newly discovered pathogenesis mechanism of PAH.
Zhao et al. (Thu,) studied this question.