Riociguat versus sildenafil on hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction and ventilation/perfusion matching

Introduction Current treatment with vasodilators for pulmonary hypertension associated with respiratory diseases is limited by their inhibitory effect on hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction (HPV) and uncoupling effects on ventilation-perfusion (V'/Q'). Hypoxia is also a well-known modulator of the nitric oxide (NO) pathway, and may therefore differentially affect the responses to phosphodiesterase 5 (PDE5) inhibitors and soluble guanylyl cyclase (sGC) stimulators. So far, the effects of the sGC stimulator riociguat on HPV have been poorly characterized. Materials and methods Contraction was recorded in pulmonary arteries (PA) in a wire myograph. Anesthetized rats were catheterized to record …