Gender differences in preclinical markers of kidney injury in a rural north Carolina african-american cohort.

Introduction: The incidence rate of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) is highest among African-American (AA) males. The reason for this disparity in ESRD for AA males remains unclear, but it is well established that diabetes is the leading risk factor. Prediabetes may also be a risk for kidney disease since prediabetics have increased risk for cardiovascular disease and often do not receive drug interventions unless their hemoglobin A1c (A1c) level is above 6%.

Differential Effect of Renal Cortical and Medullary Interstitial Fluid Calcium on Blood Pressure Regulation in Salt-Sensitive Hypertension.

Background: Hypercalciuria is a frequent characteristic of hypertension. In this report we extend our earlier studies investigating the role of renal interstitial fluid calcium (ISF(Ca))(2+) as a link between urinary calcium excretion and blood pressure in the Dahl salt-sensitive (DS) hypertensive model.

Methods: Dahl salt-sensitive and salt-resistant (DR) rats were placed on control (0.

Effects of leucine supplementation and serum withdrawal on branched-chain amino acid pathway gene and protein expression in mouse adipocytes.

The essential branched-chain amino acids (BCAA), leucine, valine and isoleucine, are traditionally associated with skeletal muscle growth and maintenance, energy production, and generation of neurotransmitter and gluconeogenic precursors. Recent evidence from human and animal model studies has established an additional link between BCAA levels and obesity. However, details of the mechanism of regulation of BCAA metabolism during adipogenesis are largely unknown.

State anxiety is associated with cardiovascular reactivity in young, healthy african americans.

Although several studies have shown that enhanced cardiovascular reactivity can predict hypertension development in African Americans, these findings have not been consistent among all studies examining reactivity and hypertension susceptibility. This inconsistency may be explained by the influence of anxiety (state and trait) on the blood pressure response to stress. Therefore, this study sought to determine whether anxiety is associated with blood pressure response to cold pressor (CP) and anger recall (AR) stress tests in young healthy African Americans.

Physiological stress increases renal injury in eNOS-knockout mice.

African Americans have a fourfold greater likelihood of developing end-stage renal disease (ESRD) compared with Caucasians. It has been proposed that the increased prevalence may be explained by non-traditional factors such as environmental stress and psychosocial factors. In this study, we used infrequent running to exhaustion as a physiological stressor to mimic real life experiences, such walking up stairs when an elevator is malfunctioning or running to catch a bus, to study its effect on renal injury in a hypertensive mouse model (endothelial nitric oxide synthase-deficient mice; eNOS(-/-)).

Mesenteric artery contraction and relaxation studies using automated wire myography.

Proximal resistance vessels, such as the mesenteric arteries, contribute substantially to the peripheral resistance. These small vessels of between 100-400 μm in diameter function primarily in directing blood flow to various organs according to the overall requirements of the body. The rat mesenteric artery has a diameter greater than 100 μm.

The effect of salt on renal damage in eNOS-deficient mice.

African Americans have an increased incidence of end-stage renal disease and are characterized as having reduced bioavailability of nitric oxide and salt-sensitivity. We propose that endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) knockout mice (eNOS(-/-)) are a suitable model of hypertension-associated renal injury as seen in African Americans. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine whether older eNOS(-/-) mice have hypertension-associated renal injury and if dietary salt modulates this injury.

Psychosocial factors contribute to resting blood pressure in African Americans.

Objectives: African Americans as a group have higher blood pressure than individuals of northern European ancestry (non-Hispanic Whites). We investigate whether psychosocial factors explain the resting blood pressure of healthy, community-dwelling African Americans in our study.

Participants: A convenience sample of self-reported normotensive African Americans aged 18-65 years who live in the North Carolina Triangle region.

Action of thiazide on renal interstitial calcium.

Background: Although thiazides increase urinary sodium excretion, they also decrease urinary calcium excretion. Recent studies in our laboratory have shown that increased dietary salt significantly reduces interstitial fluid calcium in Dahl salt-sensitive (DS) rats, and this was associated with a rise in blood pressure and increased urinary calcium excretion. Owing to the vasorelaxant actions of increased extracellular fluid calcium, we reasoned that the antihypertensive action of hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ), a commonly used thiazide, may be the result of increased interstitial fluid calcium as a consequence of decreased urinary calcium excretion.

Different effects of angiotensin receptor blockade on end-organ damage in salt-dependent and salt-independent hypertension.

Background: Although angiotensin II type 1 receptor blockers have emerged as effective antihypertensive agents, it is not known how efficacious these agents are in treating hypertension-associated target organ damage.

Methods And Results: The present study was undertaken to compare the effect of angiotensin type 1 receptor inhibition on the progression of the organ damage observed in 2 models of hypertension, namely, salt-sensitive and nitric oxide synthase inhibition-mediated hypertension. Effective (16.