The pulmonary circulation of the Tibetan snow pig (<i>Marmota himalayana</i>)

Sun, Shinfu; Sui, Guiling; Liu, Y. H.; Cheng, Xian sheng; Anand, Inder; Harris, Peter; Heath, Donald

doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.1989.tb02476.x

Cited by 20 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…Several highaltitude taxa, including human populations and mammalian species that are endemic to high altitude (e.g., llama and pika), do not exhibit pulmonary hypertension when studied in their native high-altitude environment (19)(20)(21)(22). Some other high-altitude taxa (e.g., yak, mountain vizcacha, Tibetan snow pigs) have thinner smooth muscle in pulmonary arteries compared to low-altitude animals that have acclimatized to high altitude (23)(24)(25)(26)(27), as well as other changes in lung volume and/or morphology that augment O 2 diffusing capacity (28)(29)(30)(31). However, in many cases, prior studies have examined high-altitude taxa in their native environment, so it has been difficult to distinguish whether plastic responses to developmental hypoxia or genetically based differences between taxa are responsible for previous observations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pulmonary hypertension is attenuated and ventilation-perfusion matching is maintained during chronic hypoxia in deer mice native to high altitude

West

Wearing

Rhem

et al. 2021

American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comp

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Hypoxia at high altitude can constrain metabolism and performance, and can elicit physiological adjustments that are deleterious to health and fitness. Hypoxic pulmonary hypertension is a particularly serious and maladaptive response to chronic hypoxia, which results from vasoconstriction and pathological remodeling of pulmonary arteries, and can lead to pulmonary edema and right ventricle hypertrophy. We investigated whether deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) native to high altitude have attenuated this maladaptive response to chronic hypoxia, and whether evolved changes or hypoxia-induced plasticity in pulmonary vasculature might impact ventilation-perfusion (V-Q) matching in chronic hypoxia. Deer mouse populations from both high and low altitudes were born and raised to adulthood in captivity at sea level, and various aspects of lung function were measured before and after exposure to chronic hypoxia (12 kPa O2, simulating the O2 pressure at 4300 m) for 6-8 weeks. In lowlanders, chronic hypoxia increased right ventricle systolic pressure (RVSP) from 14 to 19 mmHg (P = 0.001), in association with thickening of smooth muscle in pulmonary arteries and right ventricle hypertrophy. Chronic hypoxia also impaired V-Q matching in lowlanders (measured at rest using SPECT-CT imaging), as reflected by increased log SD of the perfusion distribution (log SDQ) from 0.55 to 0.86 (P = 0.031). In highlanders, chronic hypoxia had attenuated effects on RVSP and no effects on smooth muscle thickness, right ventricle mass, or V-Q matching. Therefore, evolved changes in lung function help attenuate maladaptive plasticity and contribute to hypoxia tolerance in high-altitude deer mice.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pulmonary hypertension is attenuated and ventilation-perfusion matching is maintained during chronic hypoxia in deer mice native to high altitude

West

Wearing

Rhem

et al. 2021

American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comp

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“…Evidence from previous studies (3,16,29,41), however, shows that species that are long-term residents at high altitudes, such as yaks, snow pigs, and llamas, maintain a low pulmonary arterial pressure with an absence of highly muscularized pulmonary arterioles, despite living at very high altitudes. This may be an adaptation to chronic hypoxia by genetic transmission (3).…”

mentioning

confidence: 96%

“…hypoxia; mast cell tryptase; vascular remodeling; smooth muscle cell; pulmonary arteriole; arterial blood gases IT IS WELL KNOWN that when mammalian species (including humans) that live at sea level are exposed to high altitude, certain species develop pulmonary hypertension with increased muscularization of the pulmonary arterioles (5,36,41). The degree of pulmonary hypertension varies among species (44) and is related to the duration of high-altitude residence and magnitude of the hypoxic stimulus.…”

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confidence: 99%

Blunted hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstrictive response in the rodentOchotona curzoniae(pika) at high altitude

Kubo

Kobayashi

et al. 1998

American Journal of Physiology-Heart and Circulatory Physiology

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To investigate the possible mechanisms of adaptation to chronic hypoxia in the pulmonary circulation, we made direct measurements of pulmonary arterial pressure (Ppa) in 10 awake pika rodents that were transported to Xining, People’s Republic of China (altitude 2,260 m) after being captured at 4,300 m and in 10 Wistar rats in a decompression chamber (simulated altitudes of 4,300 and 5,000 m) in Xining. Ppa was obtained at 1 h of exposure to each simulated altitude. The histology and immunohistochemistry of the lung tissues were also studied. Ppa in the pikas after the 4,300- and 5,000-m altitude exposures did not significantly increase, whereas in the rats Ppa rose significantly. Mean changes in Ppafrom 2,260 to 4,300 and 5,000 m were 1.48 ± 0.49 and 4.80 ± 0.67 mmHg in the pikas and 10.38 ± 3.36 and 19.10 ± 2.28 mmHg in the rats. The ratio of right ventricular to left ventricular plus septal weight in the pikas and rats was 0.22 and 0.45, respectively. The pikas maintained levels of Hb, hematocrit, and 2,3-diphosphoglycerate lower than those of the rats. The percent wall thickness of the small pulmonary arteries in the pikas and rats was 9.22 and 27.21%, respectively, and it was well correlated with the degree of Ppa in both groups. Mast cells were observed in the lungs of the rats (7.1 ± 0.33 cells/mm2) but not in the pikas. There was highly positive staining for mast cell tryptase and transforming growth factor-β around pulmonary vessels in the rats, whereas no demonstrable reaction was observed in the pikas. We conclude that the pika has adapted to high altitude by losing hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction and thin-walled pulmonary arterioles.

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“…This has been reported in the llama and other camelids in the Andes' and in the mountain viscacha ofPeru.2 It is equally true ofthe yak in the Himalaya3 and of the snow pig of the Tibetan plateau. 4 An explanation for this has been advanced by Harris,5 who believes that during the course of evolution the lung has proved to be susceptible to airway obstruction. As a consequence a pressor response to hypoxia has developed in the pulmonary circulation.…”

Section: Missing Link From Tibetmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This group of British, Chinese, Indian, and Tibetan doctors was able to study 15 patients, aged [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16] (average 9) months. Ten were male and five female.…”

Section: Missing Link From Tibetmentioning

confidence: 99%

Missing link from Tibet.

Heath¹

1989

Thorax

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The pulmonary circulation of the Tibetan snow pig (Marmota himalayana)

Cited by 20 publications

References 7 publications

Pulmonary hypertension is attenuated and ventilation-perfusion matching is maintained during chronic hypoxia in deer mice native to high altitude

Pulmonary hypertension is attenuated and ventilation-perfusion matching is maintained during chronic hypoxia in deer mice native to high altitude

Blunted hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstrictive response in the rodentOchotona curzoniae(pika) at high altitude

Missing link from Tibet.

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