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Updated: Jun 25, 2025

Imaging Ca2+ Signals in Small Pulmonary Veins at Physiological Intraluminal Pressures
Published on: March 21, 2025
[Pulmonary hypertension: calcium channel-mediated signaling, present and future pharmacological targets]
Bruno Acuña1, Juan Bello-Zepeda1, Germán Montenegro1
1Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile.
Abstract:
Pulmonary arterial hypertension is characterized by increased mean pulmonary arterial pressure, resistance, and pathological remodeling of pulmonary arteries. Calcium entry from the extracellular to the intracellular space through voltage-dependent and -independent channels play a major role in the increase of contractility of pulmonary arteries and in the loss of regulation of the proliferative behavior of the cells from the different layers of the pulmonary arterial wall. In doing so, these channels contribute to enhanced vasoconstriction of pulmonary arteries and their pathological remodeling. This review aims to summarize the evidence obtained from animal and cellular models regarding the involvement of the main plasma membrane calcium channels in these key pathophysiological processes for pulmonary arterial hypertension, discussing the potential value as pharmacological targets for therapies in the present and the future.
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