How estrogen may help the right side of the heart grow blood vessels in pulmonary hypertension
Official title: Estrogen Receptor-alpha Effects on Right Ventricular Vascular Density and Angiogenesis in Pulmonary Hypertension
Funded at VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System · NIH-11258402 · Data updated 2026-11-12
The team is testing whether the female hormone estrogen can help the right side of the heart form more small blood vessels in people with pulmonary hypertension.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Aurora, UNITED STATES) |
| Project start | January 1, 2014 |
| Project end | December 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| NIH project number | 5I01BX002042-12 |
| Project ID | NIH-11258402 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are people with pulmonary hypertension who have right-ventricular dysfunction, including veterans receiving care at VA centers.
✕Less likely to help
People without pulmonary hypertension, or whose condition is unrelated to right-ventricular blood-vessel loss (or who are too advanced in disease to respond), may not benefit from this research.
What this research studies
This project looks at how 17β-estradiol (a form of estrogen) and its receptor ERα affect the cells that line blood vessels in the right ventricle of the heart in pulmonary hypertension. Researchers study right-ventricular endothelial cells in the lab using molecular tools (including chromatin accessibility methods like ATAC-seq) and examine how estrogen changes cell metabolism and angiogenesis through molecules such as CPT1a. They also use animal models of pulmonary hypertension to see whether these cellular effects translate to more capillaries and better right-heart function. The goal is to find specific, targetable mechanisms that could lead to treatments aimed at protecting or improving the right side of the heart in PH.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lead to new therapies that protect or restore blood-vessel growth in the right heart, which may improve symptoms and survival for people with pulmonary hypertension.
How similar studies have gone: Early laboratory and animal studies, including prior work from this group, show estrogen can boost right-heart capillary density and endothelial cell growth, but clinical therapies based on this approach are not yet established.
Where this research is happening
-
VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System
Aurora, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Lahm, Tim — VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System
- Study coordinator: Lahm, Tim
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.