Role of the Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor/ARNT/Cytochrome P450 System in Pulmonary Vascular Diseases

Rationale: CYPs (cytochrome p450) are critically involved in the metabolism of xenobiotics and toxins. Given that pulmonary hypertension is strongly associated with environmental exposure, we hypothesize that CYPs play a role in the development and maintenance of pathological vascular remodeling. Objective: We sought to identify key CYPs that could link drug or hormone metabolism to the development of pulmonary hypertension. Methods and Results: We searched in Medline (PubMed) database, as well as http://www.clinicaltrials.gov , for CYPs associated with many key aspects of pulmonary arterial hypertension including, but not limited to, severe pulmonary hypertension, estrogen metabolism, inflammation mechanisms, quasi-malignant cell growth, drug susceptibility, and metabolism of the pulmonary arterial hypertension–specific drugs. Conclusions: We postulate a hypothesis where the AhR (aryl hydrocarbon receptor) mediates aberrant cell growth via expression of different CYPs associated with estrogen metabolism and inflammation.