Relationship between hepatocyte growth factor,c-Met and pulmonary vascular remodeling in pulmonary arterial hypertension induced by left to right shunt in rats / 解放军医学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To observe the localization and expression of hepatocyte growth factor(HGF),c-Met and Caspase-3 in pulmonary arterioles during the formation process of pulmonary arterial hypertension(PAH) induced by left to right shunt in rats,and explore the effect of HGF and c-Met in the formative process of PAH.Methods Eighty male SD rats(aged 4-5 weeks) were randomly divided into control group and shunt group(40 each).Rats in shunt group underwent right common carotid artery-external jugular vein shunt with cannulation to reproduce PAH model of left to right shunt,and animals in control group only received sham operation.Pulmonary hemodynamic and pathologic examination were performed 4,8,12 and 16 weeks after operation in both groups,while the expression of HGF,c-Met and Caspase-3 proteins in pulmonary arterioles were determined by immunohistochemisty at the above time points.Results Pulmonary artery systolic pressure(PASP),mean pulmonary arterial pressure(mPAP) and the ratio of pulmonary to systemic circulation flow(Qp/Qs) were obviously increased in rats with A-V shunt compared with controls at all time points after operation(P