Vascular-tubular Crosstalk in the Renin-angiotensin System

September 13, 2022
1 p.m. EDT

The research team of Matthew Sparks, MD, has found reduced blood pressure and enhanced natriuresis in mice with cell-specific deletion of AT1 receptors in smooth muscle (SMKO). Although impaired vasoconstriction and preserved renal blood flow might contribute to exaggerated urinary sodium excretion in SMKO mice, alterations in sodium transporter expression might also play a role. The webinar will delve into the exploration of this role using proteomic analysis and how the findings suggest a system of vascular-epithelial cells in the kidney, which modulate the expression of sodium transporters and contributes to the regulation of pressure natriuresis.

Learning objectives will include:

• describing the role of vascular angiotensin receptors in establishing basal blood pressure,
• describing how vascular angiotensin receptors modulate sodium excretion in the kidney,
• defining how blood pressure (not angiotensin receptors) contribute to cardiac hypertrophy in hypertension,
• exploring the role of the renin-angiotensin system in blood pressure control, and
• explaining the compensatory mechanisms that contribute to blood pressure regulation in absence of angiotensin receptors.

Speaker

Matthew Sparks, MD, is an associate professor of nephrology at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, and serves as the program director for the Nephrology Fellowship. He is the founding director of the Duke Department of Medicine, Society for Early Education Scholars, an educational program for all Fellows across the department of medicine.