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Circulating cytokines and growth factors in pediatric pulmonary hypertension

Mark Duncan1, Brandie D Wagner, Keri Murray

  • 1Section of Pediatric Pulmonology, School of Medicine, University of Colorado and Children's Hospital Colorado, Aurora, CO 80045, USA. mark.duncan@ucdenver.edu

Mediators of Inflammation
|January 15, 2013
PubMed

Insights

Circulating proteins like VEGF and IL-6 show promise as biomarkers for pediatric pulmonary hypertension (PH). Measuring these proteins may help predict adverse events and guide treatment for children with PH.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Pulmonology
  • Biomarker Discovery

Background:

  • Pediatric pulmonary hypertension (PH) management is challenging.
  • Identifying reliable biomarkers is crucial for predicting outcomes.
  • Noninvasive tools are needed to aid in pediatric PH management.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To assess circulating proteins as predictive and prognostic biomarkers in pediatric PH.
  • To investigate the association between protein markers and hemodynamic variables.
  • To develop a practical, noninvasive tool for managing pediatric PH.

Main Methods:

  • Analyzed 12 cytokines and growth factors in plasma from 70 children with PH.
  • Utilized multiplex protein array technology.
  • Evaluated associations between hemodynamics, adverse events, and protein markers.

Main Results:

  • Epidermal growth factor (EGF) and IL-6 correlated with key hemodynamics.
  • VEGF and IL-6 were significantly associated with adverse events (ORs: 0.56 and 1.69, respectively).
  • Combining hemodynamic predictors with protein markers improved adverse outcome prediction.

Conclusions:

  • Specific circulating proteins are linked to hemodynamic variables in pediatric PH.
  • These protein markers could aid patient care and clinical trial design by identifying at-risk individuals.
  • Findings suggest a role for inflammation in the pathophysiology of pediatric PH.
Abstract

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