Page 22 - CIBERES-2015-eng

Scientific Programmes
Pulmonary Hypertension
COORDINATOR: DR . ALBERT BARBERÀ
Experimental in vitro and in vivo models of the dis- ease have been prepared. For the in vitro models culture of endothelial cells of patients with pulmo- nary hypertension have been used, obtained both from pulmonary arteries and from peripheral blood. Endothelial cell lines were also obtained from the pulmonary arteries in pulmonary endarterectomy
Cooperation with the CIBERES pulmonary bio- bank platform has also been arranged to promote the collection of lung explants from patients with pulmonary hypertension who have been given a lung transplant. 20 cases have already been in- cluded. This collection is also of great value as it provides researchers with lung tissue of patients
surgery in patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH). These cell lines are available for studies of response to drugs and have been used in studies intended to evaluate the antiproliferative potential of certain drugs.
Experimental in vivo models were prepared. At the present time there are experimental models of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) (mono- crotaline in rats, SU5416 and hypoxia in rats and mice), CTEPH (injection of microspheres in suck- ling piglets) and of pulmonary hypertension as- sociated with respiratory diseases (exposure to tobacco and hypoxia in guinea pigs, bleomycin in rats). These experimental models are being used in different studies in the Programme.
The Spanish Pulmonary Hypertension Biobank has been got under way. It already has samples of 250 patients with PAH or CTEPH stored in this. This Biobank has entered into a cooperation agreement with the Registro Español de Pulmo- nary Hypertension (REHAP) for those biological samples to be linked with the clinical information available in said register. This relationship between a biological repository and a nationwide registry, something unique in the field of pulmonary hyper- tension, gives great value to this collection with a view to its use in different projects.
with advanced pulmonary hypertension.
The Programme takes part in the REHAP national registry and in HPTEC international registry, which in 2015 made known the long-term evolution of patients with CTEPH and the favourable impact of pulmonary endarterecomy surgery for surviv- al (Circulation 2016 pii:115.016522. Int J Cardiol 2016;203:938-44). We took part in an internation- al multi-centre study intended to evaluate a new strategy for treatment in HAP, based on the use of treatment combined with two drugs from the be- ginning (N Engl J Med 2015;373:834-844), proving that this strategy improves the long-term clinical results is modifying the therapeutic approach to said patients.
Different studies within the Programme have been given financing from the State Plan for Scientific and Technical Research and Innovation; the Stra- tegic Health Plan of the ISCiii; the State R+D+i Programme Oriented towards Society’s Challeng- es and from the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Innova- tive Training Networks actions, EU Programme H2020.
CIBERES has set up a cooperation agreement with the Fundación Contra la Pulmonary Hypertension for fostering research into this disease in Spain.
22 I Annual report 2015 I CIBERES