Stevan Tofovic

By Stevan P. Tofovic and Edwin K. Jackson

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), a debilitating and incurable disease, predominantly develops in women. Estradiol metabolism leads to the production of numerous metabolites with different levels of estrogenic activity and very often opposing biological effects. Dysregulated estradiol metabolism was recently linked to the penetrance, progression, and prognosis of the disease. Ongoing clinical trials are examining the effects of estradiol synthesis/signaling inhibition in patients with PAH. In this chapter, the effects of sex, sex hormones, and estradiol metabolism on the healthy pulmonary circulation and vascular pathobiology are discussed in the light of estradiol metabolism as potential pharmacological target in PAH. The effects of estrogens and their metabolites on vascular pathobiology and disease progression, their involvement in PAH-associated diseases, and the pros and cons for interventions at different levels of estradiol metabolism are discussed. Finally, we propose that 2-methoxyestradiol (2ME), a major non-estrogenic metabolite of estradiol, mediates at least in part the beneficial effects of estradiol and that 2ME exhibits opposing effects to estradiol on several processes relevant to the underlying pathophysiology of PAH, including angiogenesis, metabolic reprograming, inflammation, and immunity. Based on cellular and in vivo effects, 2ME should be viewed as a disease modifier in women with PAH.

Part of the book: Interventional Pulmonology and Pulmonary Hypertension