SFB 1213:  Pulmonary Hypertension and Cor Pulmonale

• Subject Area: Biology ; Medicine
• Term: since 2016
• Website: Homepage
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 268555672

Heart and lung diseases are the leading causes of death and represent the highest socio-economic burden of all diseases worldwide. Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a progressive disease of multifactorial etiology with poor prognosis. Up to 100 million people worldwide are affected by its various subtypes. It is characterized by pathological inward remodeling and loss of patency of the lung vasculature. Challenged with increased afterload, the right ventricle (RV) initially responds to PH with a beneficial “adaptive” hypertrophy, often rapidly followed by “maladaptive” changes leading to right heart decompensation and failure, the ultimate cause of death (cor pulmonale). The program of CRC1213 combines basic science approaches and bedside clinical research in a highly interactive network with the aim to elucidate the pathogenic sequelae underlying PH and cor pulmonale and to evaluate novel treatment concepts. We are pursuing an integrated concept in order to understand the common pathophysiological processes and molecular mechanisms of structural pulmonary vascular abnormalities as well as RV adaptation and maladaptation in PH. Preventing the progression from RV adaptation to maladaptation may open new ways to prevent death from PH. Our long-term aim is to reverse the remodeling events leading to PH in order to regain physiological lung vascular structure and function and to develop RV-focused treatment concepts currently not available. The proposal has a strong translational orientation: projects span the entire spectrum from genetic/epigenetic signatures, molecular pathway mapping, cell and developmental biology, preclinical disease models, and in vivo molecular imaging, to clinical trials, patient registries and cohorts as well as extensive biobanking. The CRC1213 Faculty is very well prepared to fulfill this mission as documented by several groundbreaking contributions to lung vascular and cardiac research, and as evidenced by top ranking publications, coordination of large national and international research consortia and translation of key findings into clinical use and exploitation. Most notable findings of CRC1213 include the identification of new targets for treatment of experimental PH (cyclin-dependent kinases, RASSF1a), novel mechanisms of oxygen sensing (mitochondrial O2 sensing via cytochrome c oxidase Cox4i2) and new biomarkers (CILP for RV function). In addition, new methods were developed and refined (e.g. pressure volume loops in patients and micro-computed tomography in experimental models). Based on these results, two new projects will enrich the CRC1213´s portfolio: 1) on lung cancer-associated PH, a new form of PH first described by us, and 2) on PH in diastolic dysfunction of the left ventricle. Two other projects were terminated. In addition to existing structural measures, the CRC 1213 will continue to support career development of young basic and clinician scientists, as well as equal opportunities and diversity.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres

Current projects

• A01 - FoxO transcription factors in PH: critical integrators of multiple signaling pathways driving pulmonary vascular and right ventricular remodeling (Project Heads Dobreva, Gergana ;  Savai Pullamsetti, Soni )
• A02 - Deciphering the role of BMP9-BMP10 and YAP-TEAD signaling in vascular smooth muscle heterogeneity and pulmonary hypertension (Project Heads Bellusci, Saverio ;  Braun, Thomas )
• A04 - Origin and fate of vascular myofibroblasts and smooth muscle cells during pulmonary vascular remodeling and reverse remodeling (Project Heads Bellusci, Saverio ;  El Agha, Ph.D., Elie )
• A05 - Regulatory network of histone modifications in human pulmonary arterial hypertension (Project Heads Bauer, Uta-Maria ;  Savai Pullamsetti, Soni )
• A06 - Sensing and signaling events underlying development and recovery of hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension (Project Heads Sommer, Ph.D., Natascha ;  Weißmann, Norbert )
• A07 - iNOS- and NoxO1-based redox signaling in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) associated PH – pathomechanisms and therapeutic exploitation (Project Head Weißmann, Norbert )
• A08 - Kinase signaling driving “pseudo-malignant” lung vascular remodeling – therapeutic exploitation (Project Heads Grimminger, Friedrich ;  Schermuly, Ralph )
• A09 - Deep phenotyping combined with genomic, proteomic and metabolomic analyses in Kyrgyz highlanders – association with high altitude adaptation (Project Heads Ghofrani, Hossein Ardeschir ;  Wilkins, Martin )
• A10 - Inflammatory lung microenvironment in lung cancer-associated pulmonary hypertension – the role of macrophages (Project Heads Savai, Rajkumar ;  Sommer, Ph.D., Natascha )
• B01 - Analysis of ventricular hypertrophy under physiological and pathological conditions in the zebrafish model (Project Heads Reischauer, Sven ;  Stainier, Ph.D., Didier Y. )
• B02 - Epigenetic control of pulmonary vessels and the right heart in development and disease: the role of Suv4-20h1 (Project Heads Braun, Thomas ;  Yuan, Xuejun ;  Zhou, Ph.D., Yonggang )
• B03 - Changes in chromatin organization and protein networks in right heart failure (Project Heads Kracht, Michael ;  Rohrbach, Susanne ;  Schmitz, M. Lienhard )
• B04 - The role of HIF-1 and its regulators p53 and Smyd2 in right ventricular hypertrophy and failure (Project Heads Novoyatleva, Tatyana ;  Schermuly, Ralph )
• B05 - Importance of mitochondrial ROS and substrate metabolism for the development and progression of right heart failure (Project Heads Schlüter, Klaus-Dieter ;  Schulz, Rainer )
• B07 - Selective biomarkers for right heart hypertrophy and failure (Project Heads Dörr, Oliver ;  Hamm, Christian ;  Nef, Holger )
• B08 - Right Ventricular (RV) function in Pulmonary Hypertension and impact of targeted interventions on RV-PA (Pulmonary Artery) coupling (Project Heads Ghofrani, Hossein Ardeschir ;  Seeger, Werner ;  Tello, Khodr )
• B09 - Mechanisms of pulmonary vascular and right ventricular remodeling in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (Project Heads Assmus, Birgit ;  Boehm, Mario )
• CP01 - Biobank of human right ventricular tissue, lung and blood specimens from CTEPH patients (Project Heads Dorfmüller, Peter ;  Liebetrau, Christoph ;  Mayer, Eckhard )
• CP02 - Phenotyping of pulmonary hypertension and cor pulmonale (Project Head Kojonazarov, Baktybek )
• CP03 - Central tasks, management and coordination (Project Head Weißmann, Norbert )

Completed projects

• A03 - The role of betaglycan in pulmonary vascular development and homeostasis (Project Head Morty, Ph.D., Rory Edward )
• B06 - Elucidating the contribution of SIAH2 to the development of cor pulmonale (Project Heads Rohrbach, Susanne ;  Schmitz, M. Lienhard )

• Applicant Institution: Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen
• Participating University: Philipps-Universität Marburg
• Participating Institution: Max-Planck-Institut für Herz- und Lungenforschung; W.G. Kerkhoff-Institut
• Spokesperson: Professor Dr. Norbert Weißmann