Immunosuppression will help with hypertension
Hypertension is a very common disease, especially among elderly people, however, despite many years of research in this area, in most cases the causes of its development are unclear. The danger of hypertension is that it significantly increases the risk of developing life-threatening conditions such as myocardial infarction, stroke and kidney failure.
People suffering from hypertension are forced to take blood pressure-lowering drugs throughout their lives, but in 15-20% of cases they do not have the desired effect.
In experiments on animal models, Australian researchers from Monash University, working under the guidance of Associate Professor Grant Drummond, found that stimulation of the immune system can lead to the development of hypertension, while suppression of immune reactions, on the contrary, can lower blood pressure to normal values.
According to the authors, in response to factors such as eating a lot of salt or stress, immune cells, known as B lymphocytes, begin to produce a huge amount of antibodies. Subsequently, these antibodies are deposited on the walls of blood vessels, which thicken and lose elasticity, which is one of the main manifestations of hypertension.
Experiments have shown that mice without B-lymphocytes are resistant to the development of hypertension. Moreover, blocking the activity of B-lymphocytes returned blood pressure indicators to normal values in the mouse model of hypertension.
It is very likely that in such cases, drugs used to suppress excessive activity of the immune system in rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases will help. One of these drugs that selectively affect B lymphocytes is rituximab.
Unfortunately, this drug is far from 100% effective, very often causes undesirable (including serious) side reactions and is far from cheap, like other drugs based on monoclonal antibodies. Therefore, if they are used to treat hypertension, then only in the most severe cases.
Article by Christopher T. Chan et al. The Obligatory Role for B Cells in the Development of Angiotensin II–Dependent Hypertension is published in Hypertension.
Evgenia Ryabtseva
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru
09.09.2015