For over 60 years, scientists searched for the human body's natural blood pressure sensors. A new study from the University of Virginia School of Medicine has pinpointed their location, opening doors to innovative hypertension treatments.
Since the late 1950s, researchers hypothesized that renin-expressing cells in the kidneys—producing a key hormone—possessed mechanisms to detect subtle blood pressure changes. These cells would then release precise amounts of renin to maintain balance. Yet, the exact location and function of these "pressure sensors" remained elusive.
In a landmark study published in Circulation Research, Dr. Maria Luisa S. Sequeira-Lopez and her team at the University of Virginia School of Medicine revealed these sensors reside within renin-expressing cells. Their findings also illuminate how these sensors operate to help prevent hypertension or hypotension.
Using genetically modified mouse models, the researchers exposed renin-expressing cells to low or high blood pressure in vivo. They also applied direct mechanical stimuli, like pressure or stretching, to cells in Petri dishes.
These experiments triggered notable shifts in renin gene (Ren1) expression and cell phenotype, confirming that the body's pressure-sensing mechanism is housed within these renin cells.
Dubbed a "mechanotransducer," this baroreceptor inside renin cells detects external pressure changes and relays mechanical signals to the cell nucleus—similar to how the cochlea converts sound waves into nerve signals.
High external pressure curbs renin production; low pressure boosts it. As study authors note, this mechanism is essential for blood pressure homeostasis.
“I'm thrilled by this discovery and the research ahead,” says Dr. Sequeira-Lopez. “Our next goal: harnessing this knowledge to develop hypertension therapies.”
