Key protein can help regulate blood pressure

WASHINGTON - In a significant breakthrough that can help prevent hypertension, a new study has found that a protein aids nerve sensors in blood vessels to keep blood pressure (BP) under control.

Without the protein channel, known as ASIC2, the sensors are unable to send the brain the signals it needs to properly control BP.

The finding, based on animal models, is important because it could be used to create new treatments to prevent high BP or hypertension.

“Sensors in your body’s blood vessels sense when your blood pressure goes up, for instance, when you get mad at someone,” said principal study investigator Frank Abboud, professor of internal medicine and biophysics, University of Iowa.

“These built-in sensors perceive the change and trigger a nearly instantaneous adjustment by sending signals to the brain, which in turn tells the blood vessels how to adjust,” he said, according to a university statement.

“By knowing more about what makes these sensors — known as baroreceptors — malfunction, we may be able to find ways to make them work properly and prevent high blood pressure,” added Abboud.

The study appeared in Neuron.