Notch signaling is known to modulate the phenotype of vascular smooth muscle cells. Xiaodong Li et al. now provide evidence for the importance of signaling through the NOTCH3 receptor and its downstream target HES-5 in pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells for the development of pulmonary arterial hypertension, and they demonstrate the therapeutic potential of targeting this signaling pathway in a mouse model of pulmonary hypertension.
- Xiaodong Li
- Xiaoxue Zhang
- Patricia A Thistlethwaite