Persistent pulmonary hypertension (PPH) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in newborns with congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH). PPH is characterized by increased vascular resistance and smooth muscle cell (SMC) proliferation, leading to obstructive changes in the pulmonary vasculature. Nitric oxide (NO), generated by endothelial NO synthase (eNOS), is an important regulator of vascular tone and plays a key role in pulmonary vasodilatation. NO synthase interacting protein (NOSIP), which is strongly expressed by pulmonary SMCs, has recently been identified to reduce the endogenous NO production by interacting with eNOS. We designed this study to investigate the pulmonary vascular expression of NOSIP in the nitrofen-induced CDH model.
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