Regulatory network of histone modifications in human pulmonary arterial hypertension (A05)

• Subject Area: Pneumology, Thoracic Surgery
• Term: since 2016
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 268555672

Lung vascular cells from pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) patients display distinct epigenetic landscapes compared to healthy cells, underlying different patterns of gene expression, including reactivation of developmental transcription factors (TFs), which govern enhancer-promoter interactions at the genome level. We will investigate the roles of two TFs, which are both differentially expressed in PAH versus donor vascular cells and which are mutated in human patients with heritable PAH: T-box transcription factor 4 (TBX4) and SRY-box transcription factor 17 (SOX17). We will define the roles of TBX4 and SOX17 in facilitating chromatin interactions and investigate the effects elicited by pathogenic variants of these TFs in PAH development and progression.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• Subproject of: SFB 1213: Pulmonary Hypertension and Cor Pulmonale
• Applicant Institution: Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen
• Project Heads: Professorin Dr. Uta-Maria Bauer; Professorin Dr. Soni Savai Pullamsetti