Researchers have succeeded in identifying two proteins capable of detecting blood pressure and controlling the baroreceptor reflex. Called PIEZO1 and PIEZO2, they could provide a therapeutic outcome for people with drug-resistant hypertension.
Located in the carotid sinuses and the sinus of the aorta, the baroreceptors are essential to our good health: it is thanks to them that our body manages to overcome changes in blood pressure without us fainting, for example when we we get up after sleeping.
Sensitive to the stretching of blood vessels, the baroreceptors react in a fraction of a second by indicating to our brain that our heart rate is increasing or decreasing: this allows us to maintain a relatively constant blood pressure.
A new study by the Scripps Research Institute looked at these baroreceptors and their baroreflexes, which help control blood pressure. Published in the magazine Science, it highlights the existence of two proteins capable of detecting blood pressure and controlling the baroreceptor reflex. According to its authors, this new work is the first to reveal how mechano-transduction, ie the detection of changes in blood pressure in cells, works.
Towards a possible treatment for drug-resistant hypertension
Named PIEZO1 and PIEZO2, these two proteins are, according to researchers, essential to our good health. Their missions are multiple: responsible for detecting the pressure in the lungs, they are also at the origin of different types of pain and soft touch. Moreover, PIEZO1 even helps red blood cells maintain their shape.
In recent experiments with a mouse model, scientists have also discovered that these two proteins are necessary to maintain blood pressure by reflex. “Our motivation for this study was rooted in basic science, but these findings could have major implications for translational medicine by improving our understanding of human health,” says Ardem Patapoutian, a professor at the Scripps Research Institute, who discovered the existence of these two proteins.
In particular, the PIEZO1 and PIEZO2 proteins could “constitute possible therapeutic targets to help people suffering from drug-resistant hypertension”, a common clinical disorder that defines high blood pressure not controlled by drugs.
For now, the researchers say, more studies are needed to understand how these two proteins work and how they might be useful in other circumstances. “We also want to understand how human genetic changes in the function of these proteins could influence arterial regulation,” says Kara Marshall, co-author of the study.
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