Monocrotaline

Monocrotaline is a naturally occurring pyrrolizidine alkaloid used to create an animal model of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). It can mimic several important aspects of human PAH including vascular remodeling, proliferation of smooth muscle cells, endothelial dysfunction, production of inflammatory cytokines and right ventricle failure. Induces endoplasmic reticulum stress in a rat model of PAH. Induces sinusoidal obstruction syndrome, a form of drug-induced liver injury. May be used to establish a mouse model of pulmonary fibrosis.