Prostaglandin-Mediated Pathway a Factor in Blood Pressure Control

Cardiovascular disease researchers have traced a prostaglandin-based metabolic pathway that modulates blood pressure by complementing the classic RAAS (renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system) pathway.

Investigators from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine (Philadelphia, USA) used advanced genetic engineering techniques to create lines of mice lacking the genes for either the cellular receptors of prostaglandin F2-alpha, receptors of low density-lipoproteins (LDL), or for both types of receptors.

The researchers reported in the April 24, 2009, online edition of the Proceedings of the [U.S.] National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) that blood pressure was reduced in both types of genetically engineered mice lacking prostaglandin F2-alpha receptors relative to normal control animals. More...