PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Reid W. D’Amico
AU  - Santhi Gladson
AU  - Sheila Shay
AU  - Courtney Copeland
AU  - James D. West
TI  - Saracatinib and Dasatinib Fail To Prevent Heritable Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension
AID  - 10.1101/345447
DP  - 2018 Jan 01
TA  - bioRxiv
PG  - 345447
4099  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2018/06/12/345447.short
4100  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2018/06/12/345447.full
AB  - Evidence suggests that the deregulation of SRC Family Kinases may play a role in the development of heritable pulmonary arterial hypertension, associated with BMPR2 mutations. The truncated c-terminus of the BMPR2 protein is known to increase the phosphorylation and downstream activity of SRC tyrosine kinases. To test the hypothesis that the inhibition of SRC can prevent heritable PAH due to a BMPR2 mutation, we exposed BMPR2 mutant mice to SRC inhibitors, saracatinib and dasatinib, to block the SRC activation caused by the BMPR2 mutation. Saracatinib and dasatinib failed to prevent the development of PAH in BMPR2 mutant mice. Increased pressure in the right ventricle was not normalized and muscularization of large blood vessels was not reduced when compared to wild type mice. Inhibiting SRC’s phosphorylation does not prevent heritable PAH, and thus supports evidence that SRC’s aberrant localization and trafficking in PAH plays a more critical role in disease development.Non-standard Abbreviations and AcronymsαSMAsmooth muscle α-actinCASp130CasBMPbone morphogenetic proteinBMRP2bone morphogenetic protein type II receptorPAHpulmonary arterial hypertensionRVSPright ventricular systolic pressureRTKreceptor tyrosine kinasesSFKSrc family kinases