Nitazoxanide activates BMP9-ALK1-SMAD signaling cascade and improves HHT vascular pathology.
Resumen:
Objective: Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) is a vascular genetic disorder caused by endothelial cell dysfunction and characterized by telangiectasias and arteriovenous malformations (AVMs). HHT results primarily from loss-of-function mutations affecting components of the BMP9-ALK1-ENG-SMAD signaling cascade, a pathway essential for endothelial quiescence and vascular homeostasis, and currently lacks a cure. Here, we investigated whether nitazoxanide, an orally bioavailable drug with extensive clinical use, can modulate endothelial signaling relevant to HHT. Approach and Results: Nitazoxanide treatment activated SMAD1/5/8 signaling and increased expression of the downstream target ID1 in endothelial cells, while concurrently inhibiting mTOR signaling, indicating a dual modulatory effect on pathways implicated in HHT pathogenesis. In vivo, nitazoxanide activated SMAD signaling in BMP9/10-immunoblocked mice and significantly reduced AVM formation and hypervascularization. Importantly, nitazoxanide restored SMAD1/5/8 activation and ID1 expression in patient-derived blood outgrowth endothelial cells harboring loss-of-function mutations in ALK1 or SMAD4, which exhibit impaired BMP signaling. Conclusion: These findings identify nitazoxanide as a pharmacological modulator capable of activating BMP-SMAD signaling while restraining mTOR activity, thereby overcoming key signaling defects in HHT endothelial cells. Collectively, our results highlight nitazoxanide as a promising therapeutic candidate to target endothelial dysfunction in HHT.
| 2026 | |
|
Programa de Desarrollo de las Ciencias Básicas Agencia Nacional de Investigación e Innovación Brain Vascular Malformation Consortium (NIH U54/BVMC Pilot Project 14065sc) National Institute of Health U54/BVMC Pilot Project 14065sc |
|
|
BMP9-ALK1-ENG-SMAD signaling cascade nitazoxanide hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia arteriovenous malformation therapy Ciencias Médicas y de la Salud Medicina Clínica Sistemas Cardíaco y Cardiovascular |
|
| Inglés | |
| Institut Pasteur de Montevideo | |
| IPMON en REDI | |
|
https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12381/5570
https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.05.12.724733 |
|
| Acceso abierto | |
| Reconocimiento-NoComercial-SinObraDerivada 4.0 Internacional. (CC BY-NC-ND) |