Novel medical therapies for pulmonary arterial hypertension

Efficacy and safety of novel-targeted drugs in the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension: a Bayesian network meta-analysis

Background: Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a severe and fatal clinical syndrome characterized by high blood pressure and vascular remodeling in the pulmonary arterioles, which is also a rapidly progressing disease of the lung vasculature with a poor prognosis. Although PAH medication made great advances in recent years, the efficacy and safety of the medication are unsatisfactory. Therefore, we aimed to update and expand previous studies to explore the efficacy and safety of PAH-targeted medications. Methods: Relevant articles were searched and selected from published or publicly available data in PubMed, Cochrane Library, CNKI, PsycInfo, and MEDLINE (from inception until October 1^st, 2020). To assess the efficacy and safety of PAH therapies, five efficacy outcomes [6-minute walking distance (6MWD), mean pulmonary arterial pressure (mPAP), WHO functional class (WHO FC) improvement, clinical worsening, death] and two safety outcomes [adverse events (AEs), serious adverse events (SAEs)] were selected. And 6MWD was regarded as the primary efficacy outcome.

Results: 50 trials included with 10 996participants were selected. In terms of efficacy, all targeted drugs were more effective than placebo. For 6MWD, Bosentan + Sildenafil, Sildenafil, Bosentan + Iloprost were better than others. Bosentan + Iloprost and Bosentan + Sildenafil were better for mPAP. Bosentan + Iloprost and Ambrisentan + Tadalafil were more effective in improving WHO FC. Bosentan + Tadalafil and Bosentan + Iloprost had the Ambrisentan probability to reduce the incidence of clinical worsening. It is demonstrated that Ambrisentan had clear benefits in reducing all-cause mortality. In terms of safety, no therapies had been shown to reduce the incidence of SAEs significantly, and Ambrisentan + Tadalafil significantly increased the incidence of AEs.

Conclusions: Phosphodiesterase 5 inhibitor (PDE5i) + Endothelin Receptor Antagonists (ERA) seems to be better therapy for PAH. Prostacyclin analogs (ProsA) + ERA appear promising, though additional data is warranted.

Registration PROSPERO CRD42020218818.

Very Small Embryonic-like Stem Cells Are Mobilized in Human Peripheral Blood during Hypoxemic COPD Exacerbations and Pulmonary Hypertension

Very small embryonic-like stem cells (VSELs) are major pluripotent stem cells involved in vascular and tissue regeneration and constitute a recruitable pool of stem/progenitor cells with putative instrumental role in organ repair. Here, we hypothesized that VSELs might be mobilized from the bone marrow (BM) to peripheral blood (PB) in patients with hypoxic lung disease or pulmonary hypertension (PH). The objective of the present study was then to investigate the changes in VSELs number in peripheral blood of patients with hypoxic lung disease and PH. We enrolled 26 patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) with or without hypoxemia, 13 patients with PH and 20 controls without any respiratory or cardiovascular diseases. In PH patients, VSELs levels have been determined during right heart catheterization in pulmonary blood and PB. For this purpose, mononuclear cells were separated by density gradient and VSELs have been quantified by using a multiparametric flow cytometry approach. The number of PB-VSELs in hypoxic COPD patients was significantly increased compared with non-hypoxic COPD patients or controls (p = 0.0055). In patients with PH, we did not find any difference in VSELs numbers between arterial pulmonary blood and venous PB (p = 0.93). However, we found an increase in VSELs in the peripheral blood of patients with PH (p = 0.03). In conclusion, we unraveled that circulating VSELs were increased in peripheral blood of patients with hypoxic COPD or with PH. Thus, VSELs may serve as a reservoir of pluripotent stem cells that can be recruited into PB and may play an important role in promoting lung repair.

Riociguat for the treatment of pulmonary hypertension: Chinese subgroup analyses and comparison

OBJECTIVE

PATENT-1 and CHEST-1 were pivotal, international phase III trials assessing riociguat for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH). Here we compare Chinese patients from these studies with the overall populations, and report the clinical effect and safety of riociguat in Chinese patients with PAH and CTEPH.

METHODS

PATENT-1 was a 12-week, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of riociguat (maximum 2.5 mg three times daily or 1.5 mg three times daily (exploratory) in patients with PAH. CHEST-1 was a 16-week, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of riociguat (maximum 2.5 mg three times daily) in patients with inoperable CTEPH or persistent/recurrent pulmonary hypertension after pulmonary endarterectomy. The primary endpoint in each study was change from baseline to study end in 6 min walking distance (6MWD). Secondary endpoints included pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR), N-terminal prohormone of brain natriuretic peptide, WHO functional class (FC), and time to clinical worsening.

RESULTS

Chinese patients in PATENT-1 (n=77) and CHEST-1 (n=32) were younger and had better baseline 6MWD and WHO FC versus the overall population. Riociguat increased 6MWD versus placebo in Chinese patients in PATENT-1 and CHEST-1, with a greater increase observed in CHEST-1 (least-squares mean differences +46 m and +102 m in PATENT-1 and CHEST-1, respectively). Riociguat also improved several secondary endpoints in both studies, and was well tolerated.

CONCLUSIONS

Chinese patients displayed differences in baseline characteristics versus the overall populations in PATENT-1 and CHEST-1. Riociguat improved 6MWD, PVR, WHO FC, and other clinical outcomes in Chinese patients with PAH or CTEPH.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

PATENT-1: NCT00810693, Results; CHEST-1 NCT00855465, Results.

Novel therapeutic approaches for pulmonary arterial hypertension: Unique molecular targets to site-specific drug delivery

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a cardiopulmonary disorder characterized by increased blood pressure in the small arterioles supplying blood to lungs for oxygenation. Advances in understanding of molecular and cellular biology techniques have led to the findings that PAH is indeed a cascade of diseases exploiting multi-faceted complex pathophysiology, with cellular proliferation and vascular remodeling being the key pathogenic events along with several cellular pathways involved. While current therapies for PAH do provide for amelioration of disease symptoms and acute survival benefits, their full therapeutic potential is hindered by patient incompliance and off-target side effects. To overcome the issues related with current therapy and to devise a more selective therapy, various novel pathways are being investigated for PAH treatment. In addition, inability to deliver anti-PAH drugs to the disease site i.e., distal pulmonary arterioles has been one of the major challenges in achieving improved patient outcomes and improved therapeutic efficacy. Several novel carriers have been explored to increase the selectivity of currently approved anti-PAH drugs and to act as suitable carriers for the delivery of investigational drugs. In the present review, we have discussed potential of various novel molecular pathways/targets including RhoA/Rho kinase, tyrosine kinase, endothelial progenitor cells, vasoactive intestinal peptide, and miRNA in PAH therapeutics. We have also discussed various techniques for site-specific drug delivery of anti-PAH therapeutics so as to improve the efficacy of approved and investigational drugs. This review will provide gainful insights into current advances in PAH therapeutics with an emphasis on site-specific drug payload delivery.

Riociguat for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension: a long-term extension study (PATENT-2)

Riociguat is a soluble, guanylate cyclase stimulator, approved for pulmonary arterial hypertension. In the 12-week PATENT-1 study, riociguat was well tolerated and improved several clinically relevant end-points in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension who were treatment naïve or had been pretreated with endothelin-receptor antagonists or prostanoids. The PATENT-2 open-label extension evaluated the long-term safety and efficacy of riociguat. Eligible patients from the PATENT-1 study received riociguat individually adjusted up to a maximum dose of 2.5 mg three times daily. The primary objective was to assess the safety and tolerability of riociguat; exploratory efficacy assessments included 6-min walking distance and World Health Organization (WHO) functional class. Overall, 396 patients entered the PATENT-2 study and 324 (82%) were ongoing at this interim analysis (March 2013). The safety profile of riociguat in PATENT-2 was similar to that observed in PATENT-1, with cases of haemoptysis and pulmonary haemorrhage also being observed in PATENT-2. Improvements in the patients', 6-min walking distance and WHO functional class observed in PATENT-1 persisted for up to 1 year in PATENT-2. In the observed population at the 1-year time point, mean±sd 6-min walking distance had changed by 51±74 m and WHO functional class had improved in 33%, stabilised in 61% and worsened in 6% of the patients versus the PATENT-1 baseline. Long-term riociguat was well tolerated in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension, and led to sustained improvements in exercise capacity and functional capacity for up to 1 year.