Maxwell Mathias, Charles Sperrazza, Anas Salkini, Andrew Cave, Courtney T. Griffin, Venkatachalem Sathish, Subhrajit Lahiri
University of Oklahoma Health College of Medicine. Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation.
United States
Pediatric Research
Pediatr Res 2026;
DOI: 10.1038/s41390-026-05326-4
Abstract
Pediatric pulmonary hypertension (PH) has high morbidity and mortality, with an estimated 5-year survival of 75% regardless of underlying cause. Pediatric PH most commonly affects infants born preterm who develop lung disease of prematurity as well as those with congenital heart disease. Current therapies have been adapted from the treatment of adult PH. One barrier to the study of pediatric PH is the lack of live tissue samples or primary cells for research. In this manuscript, we describe methods to obtain pulmonary endothelium from cardiac catheterization of pediatric patients with PH. We applied methods previously described in adult patients undergoing isolated right heart catheterization to obtain viable endothelium from pulmonary wedge catheters in pediatric patients. Primary cells were grown and passaged, and endothelial phenotype was confirmed by light microscopy, immunohistochemistry, flow cytometry, migration assay, and tube formation assay. To our knowledge, this is the first published account of endothelial culture from pulmonary wedge balloon catheters in pediatric patients. IMPACT: Validation of endothelial isolation from pulmonary wedge catheter to pediatric populations. Endothelium isolated from pulmonary wedge catheters are a valuable translational resource to study disease mechanism and develop therapeutics.
Category
Diagnostic Testing for Pulmonary Vascular Disease. Invasive Testing
Vascular Cell Biology and Mechanisms of Pulmonary Vascular Disease
Age Focus: Pediatric Pulmonary Vascular Disease
Fresh or Filed Publication: Fresh (PHresh). Less than 1-2 years since publication
Article Access
Free PDF File or Full Text Article Available Through PubMed or DOI: Yes