title: Gut microbiota in hypertension.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Hypertension, which is present in about one quarter of the world's population, is responsible for about 41% of the number one cause of death - cardiovascular disease. Not included in these statistics is the effect of sodium intake on blood pressure, even though an increase or a marked decrease in sodium intake can increase blood pressure. This review deals with the interaction of gut microbiota and the kidney with genetics and epigenetics in the regulation of blood pressure and salt sensitivity.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The abundance of the gut microbes, Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes, is associated with increased blood pressure in several models of hypertension, including the spontaneously hypertensive and Dahl salt-sensitive rats. Decreasing gut microbiota by antibiotics can increase or decrease blood pressure that is influenced by genotype. The biological function of probiotics may also be a consequence of epigenetic modification, related, in part, to microRNA. Products of the fermentation of nutrients by gut microbiota can influence blood pressure by regulating expenditure of energy, intestinal metabolism of catecholamines, and gastrointestinal and renal ion transport, and thus, salt sensitivity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The beneficial or deleterious effect of gut microbiota on blood pressure is a consequence of several variables, including genetics, epigenetics, lifestyle, and intake of antibiotics. These variables may influence the ultimate level of blood pressure and control of hypertension.
authors.affiliation: aDepartments of Medicine and Physiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland bDepartment of Medicine, George Washington School of Medicine, Washington, District of Columbia, USA.
authors.forename: Pedro A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Jose
authors.forename: Dominic
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Raj
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology*; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic / Q000235:genetics*; D000069196:Gastrointestinal Microbiome / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000382:microbiology*; D007668:Kidney / Q000378:metabolism; D012965:Sodium Chloride / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D012965:Sodium Chloride