Inhaled pharmacotherapies are promising treatment options for patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) as they minimize extrapulmonary adverse effects. Recently, we developed a highly specific inhibitor (TPHi) of the serotonin synthesizing enzyme tryptophan hydroxylase 1, TPT-004. We hypothesized that repetitive nose-only inhalation of TPT-004 alleviates PAH and pulmonary vascular remodeling in the Sugen-hypoxia (SuHx) rat model. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into 3 groups: (i) ConNx, control animals kept in room air during the study; (ii) SuHx [rats subcutaneously injected with the VEGFR2-inhibitor SU5416, then exposed to chronic hypoxia (3 weeks), followed by 5.5 weeks of room air]; (iii) SuHx + TPHi [SuHx animals treated with TPHi by inhalation for 4 weeks]. Closed-chest right-left heart catheterization and cardiac MRI were performed in spontaneously breathing rats. Lungs underwent histological and mRNA-seq analysis. SuHx-exposed rats had severe PAH, RV hypertrophy, and RV dilation. In comparison with SuHx-exposed rats, TPHi-treated SuHx rats had significantly lower RV systolic pressure (67.25 vs.51.47mmHg; p<0.0001), normalized RV end-systolic volume (182.6 vs. 105.1µL; p<0.0001) and improved RV ejection fraction by cardiac MRI (47.9 vs. 66.8%; p<0.0001). Inhaled TPT-004 did not affect LV end-diastolic or systemic blood pressure. TPT-004 therapy reversed pulmonary vascular remodeling and alveolar macrophage infiltration. RNA-sequencing unraveled TPHi-induced changes in pulmonary gene expression: 1) increased cell adhesion and reduced cell motility/migration; 2) suppressed extracellular matrix remodeling; 3) modulated immune response; 4) suppressed pulmonary vascular remodeling via modulating proliferation, apoptosis, and homeostasis. Taken together, TPT-004 is an effective therapeutic PAH agent, does not cause any hemodynamic adverse effects in rodents, and thus, should be tested further towards a clinical phase 1b/phase 2 study in PAH patients.
American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology
Inhalation of the Novel Tryptophan Hydroxylase 1 Inhibitor TPT-004 Alleviates Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension
Ekaterina Legchenko
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; Philippe Chouvarine Ekaterina Legchenko
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Hannover Medical School, Pediatric Cardiology and Critical Care, Hannover, Germany
Heidelberg University Medical Faculty Mannheim, Cardiovascular Physiology, Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Hannover Medical School, Pediatric Cardiology and Critical Care, Hannover, Germany
Heidelberg University Medical Faculty Mannheim, Cardiovascular Physiology, Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
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, Klea Hysko Philippe Chouvarine
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Hannover Medical School, Pediatric Cardiology and Critical Care, Hannover, Germany
Hannover Medical School, Pediatric Cardiology and Critical Care, Hannover, Germany
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, Fatimunnisa Qadri Klea Hysko
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Hannover Medical School, Pediatriac Cardiology and Critical Care, Hannover, Niedersachsen, Germany
Hannover Medical School, Pediatriac Cardiology and Critical Care, Hannover, Niedersachsen, Germany
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, Radoslaw Wesolowski Fatimunnisa Qadri
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, Edgar Specker Radoslaw Wesolowski
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, Silke Glage Edgar Specker
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Leibniz-Forschungsinstitut für Molekulare Pharmakologie (FMP), Chemical Biology Platform, Berlin-Buch, Germany
Leibniz-Forschungsinstitut für Molekulare Pharmakologie (FMP), Chemical Biology Platform, Berlin-Buch, Germany
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, Martin Meier Silke Glage
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Hannover Medical School, Central anminal facility, Hannover, Germany
Hannover Medical School, Central anminal facility, Hannover, Germany
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, Katharina Schwarz Martin Meier
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MHH, Small Animal Imaging Center, Laboratory Animal Science, Hannover, Niedersachsen, Germany
MHH, Small Animal Imaging Center, Laboratory Animal Science, Hannover, Niedersachsen, Germany
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, Joerg Heineke Katharina Schwarz
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Fraunhofer Institute for Toxicology and Experimental Medicine ITEM, Hannover, Niedersachsen, Germany
Fraunhofer Institute for Toxicology and Experimental Medicine ITEM, Hannover, Niedersachsen, Germany
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, Gerhard Pohlmann Joerg Heineke
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Heidelberg University Medical Faculty Mannheim, Cardiovascular Physiology, Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Heidelberg University Medical Faculty Mannheim, Cardiovascular Physiology, Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
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, Gerhard Pohlmann
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Fraunhofer-Institut fur Toxikologie und Experimentelle Medizin, Medizinische Inhalationstechnologie , Hannover, Niedersachsen, Germany
Fraunhofer-Institut fur Toxikologie und Experimentelle Medizin, Medizinische Inhalationstechnologie , Hannover, Niedersachsen, Germany
Mehmet Ramazanoglu
Georg Hansmann
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, Michael Bader Mehmet Ramazanoglu
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Fraunhofer-Institut für Toxikologie und Experimentelle Medizin ITEM, Hannover, Niedersachsen, Germany
Fraunhofer-Institut für Toxikologie und Experimentelle Medizin ITEM, Hannover, Niedersachsen, Germany
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; Michael Bader
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Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Molecular Biology of Peptide Hormones, Berlin, Germany
University of Lübeck, Center for Structural and Cellular Biology in Medicine, Lübeck, Germany
Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Molecular Biology of Peptide Hormones, Berlin, Germany
University of Lübeck, Center for Structural and Cellular Biology in Medicine, Lübeck, Germany

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Georg Hansmann
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Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Pediatric Cardiology, Erlangen, Germany; [email protected]
Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Pediatric Cardiology, Erlangen, Germany; [email protected]
- Ekaterina Legchenko Hannover Medical School, Pediatric Cardiology and Critical Care, Hannover, Germany; Heidelberg University Medical Faculty Mannheim, Cardiovascular Physiology, Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
- Philippe Chouvarine Hannover Medical School, Pediatric Cardiology and Critical Care, Hannover, Germany
- Klea Hysko Hannover Medical School, Pediatriac Cardiology and Critical Care, Hannover, Niedersachsen, Germany
- Fatimunnisa Qadri Max-Delbrück-Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC), Berlin, Germany
- Radoslaw Wesolowski Max-Delbrück-Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC), Berlin, Germany
- Edgar Specker Leibniz-Forschungsinstitut für Molekulare Pharmakologie (FMP), Chemical Biology Platform, Berlin-Buch, Germany
- Silke Glage Hannover Medical School, Central anminal facility, Hannover, Germany
- Martin Meier MHH, Small Animal Imaging Center, Laboratory Animal Science, Hannover, Niedersachsen, Germany
- Katharina Schwarz Fraunhofer Institute for Toxicology and Experimental Medicine ITEM, Hannover, Niedersachsen, Germany
- Joerg Heineke Heidelberg University Medical Faculty Mannheim, Cardiovascular Physiology, Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
- Gerhard Pohlmann Fraunhofer-Institut fur Toxikologie und Experimentelle Medizin, Medizinische Inhalationstechnologie , Hannover, Niedersachsen, Germany
- Mehmet Ramazanoglu Fraunhofer-Institut für Toxikologie und Experimentelle Medizin ITEM, Hannover, Niedersachsen, Germany
- Michael Bader Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Molecular Biology of Peptide Hormones, Berlin, Germany; University of Lübeck, Center for Structural and Cellular Biology in Medicine, Lübeck, Germany
- Georg Hansmann Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Pediatric Cardiology, Erlangen, Germany
Received: July 30, 2024
Accepted: January 30, 2025