Comparative analysis of age in monocrotaline-induced pulmonary hypertensive rats

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a rare, progressive, and fatal cardiovascular/lung disease. The incidence rate is affected by age. Monocrotaline (MCT, 60 mg/kg)-treated rats are widely used as an experimental PAH model. Here, we found that young rats died at a mean of 23.4 days after MCT injection, whereas adult rats survived for over 42 days. However, young (7-week-old) and adult (20-week-old) MCT-treated rats developed PAH, and had upregulated Ca²⁺-sensing receptor and transient receptor potential canonical subfamily 6 channel expression in pulmonary arteries. The present study provides novel information for elucidating the mechanism underlying the age difference in PAH patients.