Effect of iloprost on biomarkers in patients with congenital heart disease-pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Some biomarkers play important roles in the endothelial dysfunction of patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), including nitric oxide (NO), endothelin-1 (ET-1), asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA), galectin-3 (Gal-3), B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP), and uric acid (UA). However, studies on these biomarkers in pulmonary artery blood in congenital heart disease-PAH (CHD-PAH) and the effect of iloprost on the regulation of biomarkers are lacking. This study investigated potential CHD-PAH biomarkers and their association with the severity of disease. The effect of iloprost on the regulation of these biomarkers was also studied. A total of 31 patients with CHD-PAH were enrolled. Seven with positive effects of iloprost (the average reduction in mPAP 11.13±1.73 mm Hg) and 19 with negative effects of iloprost (the average reduction in mPAP 4.21±4.87 mm Hg; iloprost positive group [IPG] vs iloprost negative group [ING], P<.01) and five age-matched controls were studied. The pulmonary artery blood sample was collected before and after inhaling iloprost, and the plasma concentrations of Gal-3, ADMA, ET-1, and NO were measured. A significant positive linear relationship was observed between mPAP and plasma ET-1, BNP, ADMA, and UA levels in all patients with CHD-PAH. ET-1, ADMA, BNP, and UA levels had a significant linear relationship with mean pulmonary arterial pressure, which could be used to predict the severity of CHD-PAH. ET-1 might be a potential biomarker to pre-evaluate the effect of iloprost on CHD-PAH. Iloprost could affect the expression of Gal-3 and, therefore, the process of fibrosis could be influenced by iloprost.