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(Hypertension. 2006;47:147.)
© 2006 American Heart Association, Inc.

Editorial Commentaries

Integrins in Hypertensive Remodeling

Ed VanBavel; Michael J. Mulvany

From the Department of Medical Physics (E.V.B.), Academic Medical Center Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; and the Department of Pharmacology (M.J.M.), University of Aarhus, Aarhus, Denmark.

Correspondence to Prof. Michael J. Mulvany, Department of Pharmacology, University of Aarhus, University Park 1240, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark. E-mail mm@farm.au.dk

An extract of the first 250 words of the full text is provided, because this article has no abstract.

As nurse Abby in the popular television series "E.R." well knew (http://www.erheadquarters.com/episodes/10/10204.htm), the law of Laplace states that wall stress equals pressure times radius divided by wall thickness. This law leaves 2 options for a vessel to normalize its wall stress in hypertension: either reorganize the available material around a smaller lumen or undergo hypertrophy. In various forms of hypertension, including human essential hypertension, the resistance arteries choose the first option, eutrophic inward remodeling, whereas large vessels demonstrate hypertrophy.^1,2 The mechanisms by which the vessels make this choice are not clear.

Previous investigations have suggested that integrins, in particular the ß₃ integrin, is involved in the eutrophic remodeling process.³ The article by Heerkens et al⁴ is the first to test this hypothesis as regards remodeling during hypertension. The authors use the well-characterized TGR(mRen2)27 rat⁵ as a genetic hypertension model. These Ren2 rats start developing hypertension from the age of 4 weeks, probably as a result of increased activity of the renin–angiotensin system,⁶ and have previously been shown to be associated with inward eutrophic remodeling of mesenteric small arteries.⁷ No measurements of lumen diameter are reported by Heerkens et al, but in a private communication the authors informed us that lumen diameters of the vessels from Ren2 animals were significantly reduced relative to those from control animals by 14%, 29%, 18% at, respectively, 5 weeks, 6 weeks, and 8 weeks; lumen diameters were identical at 4 weeks. Thus, inward remodeling occurred at all ages after 4 weeks. From their measurements of . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Related Article:

V Integrins Are Necessary for Eutrophic Inward Remodeling of Small Arteries in Hypertension

Egidius H.J. Heerkens, Linda Shaw, Alisdair Ryding, Gillian Brooker, John J. Mullins, Clare Austin, Vasken Ohanian, and Anthony M. Heagerty
Hypertension 2006 47: 281-287. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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