title: Excessive Respiratory Modulation of Blood Pressure Triggers Hypertension.
abstract: The etiology of hypertension, the world's biggest killer, remains poorly understood, with treatments targeting the established symptom, not the cause. The development of hypertension involves increased sympathetic nerve activity that, in experimental hypertension, may be driven by excessive respiratory modulation. Using selective viral and cell lesion techniques, we identify adrenergic C1 neurons in the medulla oblongata as critical for respiratory-sympathetic entrainment and the development of experimental hypertension. We also show that a cohort of young, normotensive humans, selected for an exaggerated blood pressure response to exercise and thus increased hypertension risk, has enhanced respiratory-related blood pressure fluctuations. These studies pinpoint a specific neuronal target for ameliorating excessive sympathetic activity during the developmental phase of hypertension and identify a group of pre-hypertensive subjects that would benefit from targeting these cells.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia.
authors.forename: Clément
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Menuet
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia.
authors.forename: Sheng
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Le
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia.
authors.forename: Bowen
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Dempsey
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia.
authors.forename: Angela A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Connelly
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia.
authors.forename: Jessica L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Kamar
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia.
authors.forename: Nikola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Jancovski
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia.
authors.forename: Jaspreet K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Bassi
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia.
authors.forename: Keryn
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Walters
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia.
authors.forename: Annabel E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Simms
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia.
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hammond
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia.
authors.forename: Angelina Y
authors.initials: AY
authors.lastname: Fong
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia.
authors.forename: Ann K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Goodchild
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia.
authors.forename: Simon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: McMullan
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia; Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia. Electronic address: a.allen@unimelb.edu.au.
authors.forename: Andrew M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Allen
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology*; D006973:Hypertension / Q000503:physiopathology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology; D011918:Rats, Inbred SHR; D012119:Respiration; D013564:Sympathetic Nervous System / Q000503:physiopathology; D013569:Synapses / Q000502:physiology