NADPH oxidase (Nox)-dependent reactive oxygen species production is implicated in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases, including hypertension. We tested the hypothesis that oxidase subunits are differentially regulated in renal proximal tubules from normotensive and spontaneously hypertensive rats. Basal Nox2 and Nox4, but not Rac1, in immortalized renal proximal tubule cells and brush ...

1. From a single strain of Wistar rats two lines of normotensive rats (NR) and two lines of hypertensive rats (SHR) were developed by selective breeding. 2. One line of normotensive rats and one of hypertensive rats were used as recipients and the remaining two were used as donors for cross-transplantation of kidneys from hypertensive to normotensive rats and vice versa. Transplantations betwee...

A prospective study was conducted to compare the frequency of renin gene polymorphisms in normotensive and hypertensive subjects. Hypertensive (n = 102, blood pressure 168 +/- 17/103 +/- 9 mm Hg) and normotensive (n = 120, blood pressure 122 +/- 10/75 +/- 9 mm Hg) subjects were white, had similar age and sex distributions (hypertensive group, 45 +/- 10 years old and 52% female; normotensive gro...

Previous studies have shown that expression of GLUT4 is decreased in arterial smooth muscle of hypertensive rats and mice and that total body overexpression of GLUT4 in mice prevents enhanced arterial reactivity in hypertension. To demonstrate that the effect of GLUT4 overexpression on vascular responses is dependent on vascular smooth muscle GLUT4 rather than on some systemic effect we develop...

Stroke is the second leading cause of death and a major cause of morbidity and mortality in western as well as developing countries. Adiponectin is a fat-derived plasma protein that has beneficial actions on cerebrovascular disorders. A low level of plasma adiponectin is associated with increased mortality after ischemic stroke. Interleukin 6 is a cytokine, which is elevated in inflammatory, tr...

BACKGROUND The use of easily obtainable clinical and laboratory parameters to identify hypertensive patients with increased cardiovascular risk in resource limited settings cannot be overemphasized. Prolongation of QT intervals and increased dispersion has been associated with increased risk of cardiovascular death. The study aimed at describing the epidemiology of QT interval abnormalities amo...

The effects of intraluminal and extraluminal endothelin-1 and its interactions with endothelium-derived relaxing factor were studied in perfused mesenteric resistance arteries of Wistar-Kyoto rats and spontaneously hypertensive rats. Changes in intraluminal diameter were recorded. In adult Wistar-Kyoto rats, but not spontaneously hypertensive rats, low concentrations of intraluminal endothelin-...

1. The influence of anxiety symptoms on autonomic nervous system cardiovascular control has never been studied in hypertensive subjects. This study was designed to verify the presence of sympathetic hyperactivity in hypertension associated with anxiety symptoms. 2. Neuroautonomic cardiovascular control was evaluated using short-time power spectral analysis of RR and arterial pressure variabilit...

The influence of treatment with the dihydropyridine-type Ca2+ antagonist lercanidipine on heart and coronary microanatomic changes was investigated in spontaneously hypertensive rats, Cohen-diabetic rats, and Cohen-Rosenthal diabetic hypertensive rats. At 12 weeks of age, animals were left untreated (control groups) or were treated for 8 weeks with an oral dose of 3 mg/kg per day of lercanidipi...

To assess blood pressure control in the Japanese population, we analyzed previously obtained measurements of conventional, home and ambulatory blood pressures in 1,174 subjects aged > or =40 in a Japanese community. On the basis of conventional blood pressure values and the use of antihypertensive medication, participants were classified as normotensive, untreated hypertensive and treated hyper...