title: Erythrocyte deficiency in calpain inhibitor activity in essential hypertension.
abstract: The calpain-calpain inhibitor system was evaluated in erythrocytes of patients with essential hypertension and normotensive controls, either with or without a family history of hypertension. Calpain levels were similar in the controls and hypertensive patients, whereas the inhibitor activity level was significantly reduced in the latter (301.8 +/- 26.4 vs 220 +/- 14 U/mg hemoglobin, p less than 0.001). Borderline hypertensive patients and a few controls with a history of hypertension showed low inhibitor activity. Similar results have recently been reported in genetically hypertensive rats of the Milan strain. A significant inverse correlation (r = -0.43, p less than 0.001) was found between mean arterial pressure and calpain inhibitor. Although the pathophysiological significance of these observations is not yet clear, they suggest a new area of investigation into the molecular mechanisms underlying essential hypertension and its complications.
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Chimica Biologica, Università di Genova, Italy.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pontremoli
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Melloni
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sparatore
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Salamino
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pontremoli
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tizianello
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Barlassina
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cusi
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Colombo
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bianchi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001794:Blood Pressure; D002154:Calpain / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism*; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000201:enzymology*; D006023:Glycoproteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D006023:Glycoproteins; C039304:calpain inhibitors; D002154:Calpain