Cigarette Smoke Directly Promotes Pulmonary Arterial Remodeling and Kv7.4 Channel Dysfunction.

Cigarette smoke is considered the chief leading cause of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Its impact on the progressive deterioration of airways has been extensively studied, but its direct effects on the pulmonary vasculature are less known. To prove that pulmonary arterial remodeling in patients with COPD is not just a consequence of alveolar hypoxia but also due to the direct effects of cigarette smoke on the pulmonary vascular bed.