Title:Immune System Alterations by Aldosterone During Hypertension: From Clinical Observations to Genomic and Non-Genomic Mechanisms Leading to Vascular Damage
VOLUME: 13 ISSUE: 6
Author(s):N. Munoz-Durango, M.F. Barake, N.A. Letelier, C. Campino, C.E. Fardella and A.M. Kalergis
Affiliation:Millennium Institute on Immunology and Immunotherapy, Departamento de Genetica Molecular y Microbiologia, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, Chile.
Keywords:Aldosterone, GPR30, hypertension, inflammation, mineralocorticoid receptor.
Abstract:Hypertension is traditionally considered a disease in which elevated blood pressure contributes to
inflammation and activation of the immune system, leading to cardiovascular injury and end-organ damage.
Here, we discuss the effects of aldosterone on the immune system and aldosterone’s contribution to vascular
pathogenesis. Studies in human have suggested a broader role for aldosterone, beyond elevating blood
pressure. Recent clinical data support the notion that aldosterone can directly alter the function of the immune
system and cause vascular-damaging inflammation. Clinical observations have been reproduced in
experimental models of hypertension, further supporting the idea that an aberrant immune response
contributes to the onset of hypertension. Such studies have shown that myeloid cells are required to induce the
disease and IL-17-producing CD4+ T cells may contribute to maintaining aldosterone-mediated hypertension.
In addition, regulatory T cells diminish the inflammatory damage caused by aldosterone during hypertension.
This is a very active area of research that could lead to new therapeutic targets for treating hypertension.
