Anti-monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 gene therapy attenuates pulmonary hypertension in rats

• Published in: American journal of physiology. Heart and circulatory physiology 2002-11, Vol.283 (5), p.H2021-H2028
• Main Authors: Ikeda, Yasuhiro, Yonemitsu, Yoshikazu, Kataoka, Chu, Kitamoto, Shiro, Yamaoka, Terutoshi, Nishida, Ken-Ichi, Takeshita, Akira, Egashira, Kensuke, Sueishi, Katsuo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Chemokine CCL2 - genetics; Chemokine CCL2 - immunology; Electroporation; Gene Expression; Genetic Therapy; Hypertension, Pulmonary - immunology; Hypertension, Pulmonary - mortality; Hypertension, Pulmonary - therapy; Hypertrophy, Right Ventricular - prevention & control; Injections, Intramuscular; Macrophages - immunology; Male; Monocrotaline; Monocytes - immunology; Plasmids - pharmacology; Pulmonary Circulation; Pulmonary Wedge Pressure; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Survival Rate; Transgenes - genetics
• ISSN: 0363-6135; 1522-1539
• DOI: 10.1152/ajpheart.00919.2001

1  Division of Pathophysiological and Experimental Pathology, Department of Pathology, 2  Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, and 3  Department of Surgery and Science, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 812-8582; and 4  Tokyo R&D Center, Daiichi Pharmaceutical Company, Tokyo 103-8234, Japan Monocyte/macrophage chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), a potent chemoattractant chemokine and an activator for mononuclear cells, may play a role in the initiation and/or progression of pulmonary hypertension (PH). To determine whether blockade of a systemic MCP-1 signal pathway in vivo may prevent PH, we intramuscularly transduced a naked plasmid encoding a 7-NH 2 terminus-deleted dominant negative inhibitor of the MCP-1 (7ND MCP-1) gene in monocrotaline-induced PH. We also simultaneously gave a duplicate transfection at 2-wk intervals or skeletal muscle-directed in vivo electroporation (EP) to evaluate whether a longer or higher expression might be more effective. The intramuscular reporter gene expression was enhanced 10 times over that by EP than by simple injection, and a significant 7ND MCP-1 protein in plasma was detected only in the EP group. 7ND MCP-1 gene transfer significantly inhibited the progression of MCT-induced PH as evaluated by right ventricular systolic pressure, right ventricular hypertrophy, medial hypertrophy of pulumonary arterioles, and mononuclear cell infiltration into the lung. Differential effects of longer or higher transgene expression were not apparent. Although the in vivo kinetics of 7ND MCP-1 gene therapy should be studied further, these encouraging results suggest that an anti-inflammatory strategy via blockade of the MCP-1 signal pathway may be an alternative approach to treat subjects with PH. MCP-1; monocrotaline; electroporation