Lucio Iannone

Biography

Pulmonary Hypertension (PH) is a condition that causes an increase in blood pressure in the lung vasculature, limiting oxygen supply to the body. Chronic hypoxia induces PH in humans and animals, resulting from increased pulmonary vasoconstriction and pulmonary vascular remodelling. Current therapies are not effective and new therapeutic targets need to be established. Deficiency in endothelium-derived nitric oxide (NO) is one of the contributing factors in PH. NO is required for the maintenance of pulmonary endothelial barrier function in addition to its vasodilatory and anti-inflammatory effects. Decrease in NO is, in part, caused by an increase in the plasma and tissue levels of the nitric oxide sythase (NOS) inhibitor, analogue asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA). ADMA is a cardiovascular risk factor, associated with conditions such as hypercholesterolemia, type II diabetes, hypertension, chronic heart failure, and renal disease. ADMA not only competitively inhibits NO formation but can also “uncouple” NOS, leading to Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) generation, which are implicated in the pathogenesis of PH. ADMA is produced as a result of proteolysis of methylated proteins and consequently degraded by dimethylarginine dimethylaminoidrolase type I and II (DDAH1and DDAH2).

Research Interest

Pulmonary Hypertension