The link between high blood pressure and a protein called apelin

Unravelling the role of the apelin-apelin receptor system in essential hypertension

Dr Anne-Marie O’Carroll is studying a protein called apelin to work out what role it plays in high blood pressure. High blood pressure, or hypertension, is a major health problem but we don’t fully understand what causes it. Recently the protein apelin, which is present throughout the body, has been shown to influence blood pressure and may be involved in high blood pressure, but we don’t yet know how apelin affects the heart and circulatory system. Scientists have found that apelin and the apelin receptor APJ are present in particular areas of the brain - the sensory circumventricular organs (CVOs) - and can affect how the brain works. Dr O’Carroll believes that APJ receptors on CVO cells act as key links by binding to apelin circulating in the blood, combining this circulating apelin signal with signals from the brain to control blood pressure. In this project, Dr O’Carroll will find out if this is true, and what effect this has on the blood pressure of healthy rats and rats with high blood pressure by blocking APJ signalling in the CVOs. This research will reveal more about the causes of high blood pressure. If apelin, APJ and the CVOs are important in controlling it, they could be new targets for new drugs to treat this condition.