The current evidence backing DMSO is a constellation of cohort studies and a single randomized-controlled trial versus placebo. The optimal dose, dwell time, type of IC most likely to respond to DMSO, definitions of success/failure and the number of treatments are not universally agreed upon. Improvements in study design, phenotyping patients based on symptoms, as well as the emergence of reliable biomarkers of the disease may better guide the use of DMSO in the future.

Background: Longevity of the superior cavopulmonary connection (SCPC) is limited by the development of pulmonary arteriovenous malformations (PAVM). The goal of this study was to determine whether phenotypic changes in pulmonary artery endothelial cells (PAEC) that favor angiogenesis occur with PAVM formation. Methods: A superior vena cava to right pulmonary artery connection was constructed in 5 pigs. Pulmonary arteries were harvested at 6-8 weeks following surgery to establish cultures of PAEC and smooth muscle cells, to determine cell proliferation, gene expression, and tubule formation. Abundance of proteins related to angiogenesis was measured in lung tissue. Results: Contrast echocardiography revealed right-to-left shunting, consistent with PAVM formation. While the proliferation of smooth muscle cells from the right pulmonary artery (RPA) (shunted side) and left pulmonary artery (LPA) (non- shunted side) were similar, right PAEC proliferation was significantly higher. Expression profiles of genes encoding cellular signaling proteins were higher in PAECs from the RPA vs. LPA. Protein abundance of angiopoietin-1, and Tie-2 (angiopoietin receptor) were increased in the right lung (both p<0.05). Tubule formation was increased in endothelial cells from the RPA compared to the LPA (404±16 vs. 199±71 tubules/mm2, respectively p<0.05). Conclusions: These findings demonstrate that PAVMs developed in a clinically relevant animal model of SCPC. This study found that PAVM development occurred concomitantly with differential changes in PAEC proliferative ability and phenotype. Moreover, there was a significant increase in the angiopoietin/Tie-2 complex in the right lung, which may provide novel therapeutic targets to attenuate PAVM formation following a SCPC.