Melatonin attenuates hypoxic pulmonary hypertension by inhibiting the inflammation and the proliferation of pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells.

Hypoxia-induced inflammation and excessive proliferation of pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) play important roles in the pathological process of hypoxic pulmonary hypertension (HPH). Melatonin possesses anti-inflammatory and antiproliferative properties. However, the effect of melatonin on HPH remains unclear. In this study, adult Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to intermittent chronic hypoxia for 4 wk to mimic a severe HPH condition. Hemodynamic and pulmonary pathomorphology data showed that chronic hypoxia significantly increased right ventricular systolic pressures (RVSP), weight of the right ventricle/left ventricle plus septum (RV/LV+S) ratio, and median width of pulmonary arterioles. Melatonin attenuated the elevation of RVSP, RV/LV+S, and mitigated the pulmonary vascular structure remodeling. Melatonin also suppressed the hypoxia-induced high expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α), and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB). In vitro, melatonin concentration-dependently inhibited the proliferation of PASMCs and the levels of phosphorylation of Akt and extracellular signal-regulated kinases1/2 (ERK1/2) caused by hypoxia. These results suggested that melatonin might potentially prevent HPH via anti-inflammatory and antiproliferative mechanisms.