AJP-Heart and Circulatory Physiology Podcast

How do the immune system, nervous system, and renal system interact in the pathogenesis of hypertension? In this podcast Editor in Chief Irving H. Zucker (University of Nebraska Medical Center) interviews lead author Sailesh Harwani (University of Iowa) and content expert Liang Xiao (Vanderbilt University) about the new study by Raikwar et al, which used a spontaneously hypertensive rat model in a pre-hypertensive state to determine the causality of the multi-system components. The study design involved two interventions--complete bi-lateral renal denervation, and ablation of CD161a+ immune cells. The authors found that administering nicotine in the renal denervation group prevented cholinergic hypertension. Blood pressure elevation and renal inflammation were prevented in both the renal denervation and CD161a+ ablation intervention groups by administering nicotine. Does the location of CD161 immune cells at the vertex between the kidneys and immune systems play a pivotal role in how these cells are influenced by the adrenergic and cholinergic nervous systems? Listen and find out.

Nandita Raikwar, Cameron Braverman, Peter M. Snyder, Robert A. Fenton, David K. Meyerholz, Francois M. Abboud, and Sailesh C. Harwani Renal denervation and CD161a immune ablation prevent cholinergic hypertension and renal sodium retention Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol, published August 20, 2019. DOI: doi.org/10.1152/ajpheart.00234.2019