Drs. Bernal-Mizrachi, Riek and collaborators had their article published in Nature Communications on September 23.
In their research, they tested the hypothesis that impaired vitamin D signaling in macrophages causes hypertension using conditional knockout of the myeloid vitamin D receptor in mice (KODMAC). These mice develop renin-dependent hypertension due to macrophage infiltration of the vasculature and direct activation of renal juxtaglomerular (JG) cell renin production.
The authors stated, “Our findings provide evidence that dysregulated macrophage signaling in response to vitamin D deficiency is sufficient to cause hypertension by a microRNA-specific mechanism that enables communication from innate immune cells to JG cells. A detailed understanding of the mechanisms by which macrophage ER stress causes miR-106b-5p secretion will direct the development of specific therapies preventing the miRNA-mediated activation of multiple signaling pathways and transcription factors involved in renin-dependent hypertension.”
Collaborators include J. Oh, S. Matkovich, S. M. Bindom, J. S. Shao1, R. D. Head3, R. A. Barve, M. S. Sands, G. Carmeliet, P. Osei-Owusu, R. H. Knutsen, H. Zhang, K. J. Blumer, C. G. Nichols, R. P. Mecham, Á Baldán, B. A. Benitez, M. L. Sequeira-Lopez, R. A. Gomez
Macrophage secretion of miR-106b-5p causes renin-dependent hypertension