A new study from researchers with UCLA Health and collaborating organizations has found that asporin, a protein encoded by the ASPN gene, plays a protective role in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Their findings, published on August 21 in the journal Circulation , offer new insights into this incurable, often-fatal disease and suggest potential new ways to treat it. "We were surprised to find that asporin, which previously had not been linked to PAH, gets upregulated to increased levels as a response to counteract this disease process," said Dr.
Jason Hong, a pulmonary and critical care physician at UCLA Health and the study's corresponding author. "This novel finding opens up new avenues for understanding PAH pathobiology and developing potential therapies." Pulmonary hypertension is a serious medical condition characterized by high blood pressure in the arteries that supply the lungs.
It causes these arteries to narrow or become blocked, which, in turn, slows blood flow to the heart, requiring it to work harder to pump blood through the lungs. Eventually, the heart muscle becomes weak and begins to fail. Need for new therapies According to recent estimates, PAH affects about 1% of the global population, but that number climbs to 10% in people who are 65 or older.
There's no cure for the disease, but medications and lifestyle changes can help slow progression, manage symptoms and prolong life. The urgent need for new therapies, combined with the potential of multiomic.