Increasing ω-3 epoxides for pulmonary hypertension

Delivering ω-3 epoxides, which are generated by the enzyme PAFAH2, could help treat pulmonary hypertension. Mass-spectrometry-based analysis of metabolites in the lungs of mice with hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension identified ω-3 epoxides and their inactive dihydrodiols as functional lipid mediators whose levels were decreased in hypoxic tissues compared with normoxic tissues at baseline, and subsequent analyses showed PAFAH2 expression was also suppressed in hypoxic lungs. Whole exome sequencing of blood samples from patients with pulmonary hypertension identified two pathogenic PAFAH2 variants that decreased the protein's expression...