Nitazoxanide activates BMP9-ALK1-SMAD signaling cascade and improves HHT vascular pathology.

Chiesa, Camila - Perez-Torrado, Valentina - Nada, Letizia - Mezzano, Rossana - Vazquez, Carolina - Santos, Leonardo - Criscuolo, Zelika - Serra, Marcelo - Marambaud, Philippe - Escande, Carlos - Ruiz, Santiago

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.

Detalles Bibliográficos
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)