image: This cartoon illustrates how LTB4 appears to be causing human pulmonary hypertension. Increased numbers of macrophages produce LTB4; this molecule causes the death of the endothelial cells (the inner lining of the vessels) while simultaneously promoting the abnormal proliferation of the smooth muscle layer. These processes make it difficult to pump blood from the heart to the lungs and result in the high pressures observed in pulmonary hypertension. This image relates to a paper that appeared in the Aug. 28, 2013, issue of Science Translational Medicine, published by AAAS. The paper, by W. Tian at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif., and colleagues was titled, "Blocking Macrophage Leukotriene B4 Prevents Endothelial Injury and Reverses Pulmonary Hypertension." view more
Credit: Image courtesy of <i>Science Translational Medicine</i>/AAAS