Pregnancy hormones increase cardiac capillary density via the PGC-1α/ERRα/VEGF pathway in cardiomyocytes
Our data indicated a direct effect of pregnancy hormones on cardiac capillarization, rather than indirect effects through CM hypertrophy, and demonstrate that capillary expansion is not sufficient to drive physiological hypertrophy. Pregnancy hormones directly act on CMs via the PGC-1α/ERRα signaling pathway and VEGF secretion, positioning CMs as a key source of angiogenic factors that promote endothelial cell proliferation and enhance capillary density in the heart.
Authors
- Zoltan Pierre Arany (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1368-2453)
- Kristina Thaben
- Süleyman Ergün (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2112-5377)
- Bernd K. Fleischmann (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9202-8363)
- Nicole Wagner (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2746-0707)
- Daniel Korzus
- Michael Hesse (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7518-0224)
Institutions
- University of Bonn (DE)
- University of Würzburg (DE)
- University of Pennsylvania (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine
- Published
- 2025-10-14
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3389/fcvm.2025.1688831
- Primary Topic
- Cardiovascular Issues in Pregnancy
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- National Institutes of Health