Loss of reticulocalbin 2 lowers blood pressure and restrains angiotensin II-induced hypertension in vivo.

Loss of reticulocalbin 2 lowers blood pressure and restrains angiotensin II-induced hypertension in vivo. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol. 2019 Apr 03;: Authors: Li J, Cechova S, Wang L, Isakson BE, Le T, Shi W Abstract Hypertension affects over one billion people worldwide and increases risk for heart failure, stroke and chronic kidney disease. Despite high prevalence and devastating impact, its etiology still remains poorly understood for most hypertensive cases. Rcn2, encoding reticulocalbin 2, is a candidate gene for atherosclerosis we previously demonstrated in mice. Here we identified Rcn2 as a novel regulator of blood pressure in mice. Rcn2 was dramatically upregulated in arteries undergoing structural remodeling. Deletion of Rcn2 lowered basal blood pressure and attenuated angiotensin II-induced hypertension in C57BL/6 mice. siRNA knockdown of Rcn2 dramatically increased production of nitric oxide (NO) breakdown products, nitrite and nitrate, by endothelial cells but not by smooth muscle cells. Isolated carotid arteries from Rcn2-/- mice showed an increased sensitivity to acetylcholine-induced NO-mediated relaxant response compared to arteries of Rcn2+/+ mice. Analysis of a recent meta dataset showed associations of genetic variants near RCN2 with blood pressure in humans. Thus, these data suggest that Rcn2 regulates blood pressure and contributes to hypertension through action on the endothelial NO synthase. PMID: 3094306...
Source: Am J Physiol Renal P... - Category: Urology & Nephrology Authors: Tags: Am J Physiol Renal Physiol Source Type: research