AUTHOR=Mprah Richard , Adzika Gabriel Komla , Gyasi Yusif I. , Ndzie Noah Marie Louise , Adu-Amankwaah Joseph , Adekunle Adebayo O. , Duah Maxwell , Wowui Prosperl Ivette , Weili Qiao TITLE=Glutaminolysis: A Driver of Vascular and Cardiac Remodeling in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine VOLUME=8 YEAR=2021 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cardiovascular-medicine/articles/10.3389/fcvm.2021.667446 DOI=10.3389/fcvm.2021.667446 ISSN=2297-055X ABSTRACT=

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a decimating ailment described by chronic precapillary pulmonary hypertension, an elevated mean pulmonary arterial pressure with a normal pulmonary capillary wedge pressure, and a raised pulmonary vascular resistance resulting in increased right ventricular afterload culminating in heart failure and death. Current PAH treatments regulate the vasodilatory/vasoconstrictory balance of pulmonary vessels. However, these treatment options are unable to stop the progression of, or reverse, an already established disease. Recent studies have advanced a metabolic dysregulation, featuring increased glutamine metabolism, as a mechanism driving PAH progression. Metabolic dysregulation in PAH leads to increased glutaminolysis to produce substrate to meet the high-energy requirement by hyperproliferative and apoptosis-resistant pulmonary vascular cells. This article explores the role of glutamate metabolism in PAH and how it could be targeted as an anti-remodeling therapeutic strategy.