Guilluy C, Eddahibi S, Agard C et al.
INSERM U915, Nantes, France.
Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2009;179:1151–8.
Editor’s note: Several studies have indicated the involvement of serotonin (5-HT) in idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (IPAH) and in pulmonary hypertension (PH) associated with other diseases. The effects of 5-HT are mediated by the 5-HT receptors and the 5-HT transporter (5-HTT). It has also been shown in several animal models, but not in humans, that activation of the Ras homolog gene family member A (RhoA) pathway is involved in the pathogenesis of PH (e.g.
Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol 2004;287:L656–64,
Circ Res 2004;94:385–93). In the present study, Guilluy and colleagues aimed to investigate possible links between the 5-HTT and RhoA/Rho kinase pathways, and their involvement in the progression of human and experimental PH.