The discovery from UVAs Swapnil Sonkusare, PhD, and colleagues breaks new ground in our understanding of how the body regulates blood pressure.
School of Medicine researchers have identified a key contributor to high blood pressure that could lead to new treatments for a condition which affects almost half of American adults.
The discovery from UVAs Swapnil Sonkusare, PhD, and colleagues breaks new ground in our understanding of how the body regulates blood pressure. It also shows how problems with this critical biological process drive high blood pressure, also known as hypertension.
UVAs research, published in the scientific journal Circulation, identifies a new paradigm in hypertension, according to an accompanying editorial. The editorial says UVAs innovative discoveries fill major gaps in our understanding of the fundamental molecular causes of high blood pressure.
Our work identifies a new mechanism that helps maintain healthy blood pressure and shows how abnormalities in this mechanism can lead to hypertension, said Sonkusare, of UVAs Department of Molecular Physiology and Biological Physics and UVAs Robert M. Berne Cardiovascular Research Center. The discovery of a new mechanism for elevation of blood pressure could provide therapeutic targets for treating hypertension.
High blood pressure is estimated to affect more than 116 million American adults. In 2020, it contributed to or caused more than 670,000 deaths in the United States, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports. Left unchecked, the condition can damage the heart and increase the risk for stroke and other health problems.
Our blood pressure is controlled, in part, by calcium levels in smooth muscle cells that line blood vessel walls. Smooth muscle cells transport calcium in and use it to regulate the contraction of blood vessels as needed. High blood pressure is commonly treated with calcium blockers that reduce the movement of calcium, but these medications have many side effects because they block a mechanism that is used by multiple organs in the body for carrying out normal functions. So a treatment option that targets the harmful effects of calcium but not its beneficial effects could be very helpful for patients with hypertension.
Sonkusare and his team discovered two critical and previously unknown -- signaling centers in smooth muscle cells that bring in calcium and regulate blood pressure. These nanodomains, the researchers found, act like symphony conductors for blood vessels, directing them to contract or relax as needed. These signaling centers, the researchers determined, are a key regulator of healthy blood pressure.
Further, the UVA scientists found that disruptions in this process contribute to high blood pressure. In both mouse models of the disease and hypertensive patients, the fine balance between constrictor and dilator signaling centers is lost. This caused the blood vessels to become too constricted, driving up blood pressure.
The new findings help us better understand how our bodies maintain proper blood pressure and provide enticing targets for scientists seeking to develop treatments targeting underlying causes of hypertension. Developing treatments that do not affect the beneficial effects of calcium will require additional research and a deeper understanding of the calcium-use process, but Sonkusares team is already working toward that goal.
Weve shown that smooth muscle cells use spatial separation of signaling centers to achieve constriction or dilation of arteries. We are now investigating the individual components of these signaling centers, Sonkusare said. Understanding these components will help us target them to lower or raise the blood pressure in disease conditions that show high or low blood pressure, respectively.
The researchers have published their findings in the scientific journal Circulation. The team consisted of Yen-Lin Chen, Zdravka Daneva, Maniselvan Kuppusamy, Matteo Ottolini, Thomas M. Baker, Eliska Klimentova, Soham A. Shah, Jennifer D. Sokolowski, Min S. Park and Sonkusare.
The work was supported by the American Heart Association, grant POST833691; theAmerican Physiological Society; the National Institutes of Health, grants HL146914, HL142808 and HL147555; and the Neurosurgery Research and Education Foundation.
The editorial accompanying the article was written by Rhian Touyz,MD, PhD, of the Research Institute of McGill University Health Centre at Canadas McGill University.
Sonkusare previously discovered why obesity causes high blood pressure.
To keep up with the latest medical research news from UVA, subscribe to the Making of Medicine blog.
See original here:
UVA Discovers Key Driver of High Blood Pressure - UVA Health Newsroom
- Exercise promotes a molecular profile in muscle: Research - January 21st, 2023
- Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory < Laboratory Medicine - January 4th, 2023
- Molecular cloning - Wikipedia - December 18th, 2022
- Trends in Molecular Medicine | Journal - ScienceDirect - December 10th, 2022
- Researchers from Insilico Medicine, University of Copenhagen, and University of Chicago unravel molecular secrets hidden in premature aging diseases... - December 2nd, 2022
- Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Week: October 2-8, 2022 - October 29th, 2022
- Biochemistry & Molecular Biology | Medicine - October 29th, 2022
- Cellular and Molecular Medicine | Faculty of Medicine - October 21st, 2022
- Molecular Diagnostics > Fact Sheets > Yale Medicine - October 21st, 2022
- Expert Reviews in Molecular Medicine | Cambridge Core - October 13th, 2022
- UT Southwestern ranked top health care institution globally for published research by Nature Index - UT Southwestern - October 13th, 2022
- Common Antibiotics Are Losing Their Potency. Researchers Pinpoint Mechanism to Restore It. - NYU Langone Health - October 13th, 2022
- expert reaction to study looking at integrating human stem cell-derived brain-like tissue in the brains of newborn rats - Science Media Centre - October 13th, 2022
- HTG Provides Update on Third Quarter Progress Toward Its Transcriptome-Informed Approach to Drug Discovery - Yahoo Finance - October 13th, 2022
- Postdoctoral Fellow in Lung Cancer Genomics job with NORWEGIAN UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY - NTNU | 311727 - Times Higher Education - October 13th, 2022
- Common cold may increase the risk of long Covid - Earth.com - October 13th, 2022
- Caris' Precision Oncology Alliance Welcomes The Cancer Institute at The University of Tennessee Medical Center - PR Newswire - October 13th, 2022
- Merus Announces Publication of Abstract on MCLA-129 at the 34th EORTC/NCI/AACR (ENA) Symposium on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics - Yahoo... - October 13th, 2022
- Molecular Test Could Improve Early Detection of Pancreatic Cancer - Technology Networks - October 13th, 2022
- UTSW researchers identify key player in cellular response to stress - EurekAlert - October 4th, 2022
- New Antibody Demonstrates Therapeutic Benefits Against Alzheimers - SciTechDaily - October 4th, 2022
- Mount Sinai study uncovers mechanisms of reactive oxygen species in stem cell function and inflammation prevention - EurekAlert - October 4th, 2022
- NovoPath Pushes the Limits of Laboratory Information Systems with Integrated Workflows for Genetic and Molecular Testing - PR Newswire - October 4th, 2022
- Postdoctoral Fellow in Bioinformatics job with NORWEGIAN UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY - NTNU | 311073 - Times Higher Education - October 4th, 2022
- Breast Cancer Awareness | Nick Jacobs | An unlikely partnership: The United States Army Space and Missile Defense Command and the Joyce Murtha Breast... - October 4th, 2022
- Tackling resistance to HIF2 drugs with an RNA-based therapy - UT Southwestern - October 4th, 2022
- OncoNano Medicine Announces Positive Phase 2 Data for Pegsitacianine as an adjunct to Cytoreductive Surgery of Peritoneal Carcinomatosis - Business... - October 4th, 2022
- SIMATS organizes Induction Ceremony - Afternoonnews - Afternoon News - October 4th, 2022
- ExPath Grad Student Madeline Mayday Awarded Grant from the NIDDK Cooperative Centers of Excellence in Hematology - Yale School of Medicine - September 25th, 2022
- Blood Cancer Discovery Publication Further Validates Exscientia's AI Precision Medicine Platform for Improving Patient Outcomes - Business Wire - September 25th, 2022
- New Startups Built From UC Davis Innovations Drive Solutions in Food, Health and Agriculture - University of California, Davis - September 25th, 2022
- Scientists Discover New Cancer Treatment - The Morning News - September 25th, 2022
- Rewriting the Textbook for Precision Medicine - Technology Networks - September 25th, 2022
- Biden says 'The pandemic is over,' but health experts disagree - Chief Healthcare Executive - September 25th, 2022
- Discovery Illuminates How Parkinson's Disease Spreads in The Brain - Weill Cornell Medicine Newsroom - September 25th, 2022
- AI Used to Determine Cause of Alzheimer's and Related Disorders - Inside Precision Medicine - September 25th, 2022
- Looking Ahead in the Treatment of Breast Cancer - Targeted Oncology - September 25th, 2022
- Researchers identify potential biomarker to distinguish two aggressive types of brain tumors in children - EurekAlert - September 25th, 2022
- New study reveals breakthrough infections increase immunity to COVID-19 - OHSU News - September 25th, 2022
- Coronavirus Today: Who's dying of COVID-19 now? - Los Angeles Times - September 25th, 2022
- Hoag Named Radiopharmaceutical Therapy Center of Excellence, Publishes Results of Breast and Prostate Cancer Trials - PR Newswire - September 8th, 2022
- Orbital Therapeutics Launches to Advance New Frontiers of Science with the Next Generation of Innovative RNA Medicines - Yahoo Finance - September 8th, 2022
- Scientists urged the Biden administration to launch an Operation Warp Speed to develop inhaled COVID vaccines. China beat the U.S. to the punch -... - September 8th, 2022
- Foundation Medicine to Share 14 Abstracts at the 2022 European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress Demonstrating the Power of Genomic... - September 8th, 2022
- Monte Rosa Therapeutics Announces FDA Clearance of Investigational New Drug Application for MRT-2359, a GSPT1-directed Molecular Glue Degrader Phase... - September 8th, 2022
- Biden administration says the once-a-year shot phase of the COVID-19 pandemic has arrived - The Boston Globe - September 8th, 2022
- ICCBS welcomes students of MPhil and PhD Programs 2022 - The Academia Mag - September 8th, 2022
- Exciting PhD positions at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) job with EUROPEAN MOLECULAR BIOLOGY LABORATORY (EMBL) | 308114 - Times... - September 8th, 2022
- Congratulations to our NRF award winners | UCT News - University of Cape Town News - September 8th, 2022
- Patients with some forms of aggressive esophageal cancers may benefit from treatment targeting how cells self-regulate - EurekAlert - September 8th, 2022
- Molecular Medicine (M.Sc.) - Georg-August-Universitt Gttingen - August 30th, 2022
- Gradalis Announces Publication in Nature Communications Medicine Identifying Survival Predicting Biomarker in Patients with Ovarian Cancer Treated... - August 30th, 2022
- Feinstein Institutes Get $3M From Lupus Research Alliance to Study Remission and Future Therapies - Business Wire - August 30th, 2022
- Unlocking the Power of Precision Medicine the Rheumatology Example - Technology Networks - August 30th, 2022
- When to trust your covid test results and when to question them | Mint - Mint - August 30th, 2022
- Molecular Diagnostics Market Report 2022-2030: Increasing Adoption of Point-Of-Care (Poc) Testing and the Development of Novel Assays Presents... - August 30th, 2022
- Advancing Precision Oncology, Ochsner Health First to Fully Integrate with Tempus and Epic's Genomics Module - Newswise - August 30th, 2022
- Tiny, Touch-Based Sensor Could Help Patients Stay on Top of Their Medications - SciTechDaily - August 30th, 2022
- Stellar Scholars Join CLAS Faculty - UConn Today - University of Connecticut - August 30th, 2022
- COVID-19 gave new urgency to the science of restoring smell - Science News Magazine - August 30th, 2022
- Dr. Sun lab wins R01 from National Institutes of Health to study liver proteins - Wayne State University - August 22nd, 2022
- Pasithea Therapeutics to Present Results of Tolerizing Vaccine Program at Prestigious International Immunotherapy Conference - GlobeNewswire - August 22nd, 2022
- New Study Identifies How A Group Of Genes Are Linked To Behavioral Conditions - Forbes - August 22nd, 2022
- New gene variant that protects against coronary heart disease uncovered - EurekAlert - August 22nd, 2022
- How a Japanese Herbal Medicine Protects the Gut Against Inflammatory Bowel Disease - Neuroscience News - August 22nd, 2022
- Insilico Medicine presents on AI for drug discovery at 9th Annual Aging Research and Drug Discovery Conference - EurekAlert - August 22nd, 2022
- Why polio is back on the radar of Canadian health officials - Brighter World - August 22nd, 2022
- Angela DeMichele, MD, MSCE, Assesses the Value of I-SPY2 for Neoadjuvant Treatment of Early Breast Cancer - Cancer Network - August 22nd, 2022
- Exciting PhD positions at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) job with EUROPEAN MOLECULAR BIOLOGY LABORATORY (EMBL) | 304753 - Times... - August 22nd, 2022
- Sensor could help patients stay on top of their meds - EurekAlert - August 22nd, 2022
- Trivitron Healthcare launches CoE in metabolomics, genomics, newborn screening and molecular diagnostics - Express Healthcare - August 22nd, 2022
- Research Trends of Moxibustion Therapy for Pain Treatment Over the Pas | JPR - Dove Medical Press - August 22nd, 2022
- Edited Transcript of EXAI.OQ earnings conference call or presentation 18-Aug-22 12:30pm GMT - Yahoo Finance - August 22nd, 2022
- Roche launches COVID-19 test that detects and differentiates the emerging variant of interest BA.2.75 - PR Newswire - August 22nd, 2022
- Will Omicron BA.5 Be the Last of the COVID Variants? - The Epoch Times - August 22nd, 2022
- Many Paths to Failure | Harvard Medical School - Harvard Medical School - August 5th, 2022
- Mitochondrial DNA Mutations Linked to Heart Disease Risk - University of California San Diego - August 5th, 2022
- UC Davis Sets a New Record, Surpasses $1 Billion in Research Funding - University of California, Davis - August 5th, 2022
- A first update on mapping the human genetic architecture of COVID-19 - Nature.com - August 5th, 2022
- Summer Scholars leave Duke with a once-in-a-lifetime research experience - Duke University - August 5th, 2022