Curcumin attenuates autoimmunity and renal injury in an experimental model of systemic lupus erythematosus.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disorder with prevalent hypertension and renal disease. To avoid side effects of immunosuppressive drugs, alternative therapies are needed. Curcumin has been used in Eastern medicine for its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.

Nitric oxide and oxidative stress pathways do not contribute to sex differences in renal injury and function in Dahl SS/Jr rats.

The burden of hypertension in the United States is increasing and yields significant morbidity and mortality, and sex differences in hypertension are widely recognized. Reduced nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability and increased oxidative stress are known to contribute to the pathogenesis of hypertensive renal injury, and but their contributions to sex differences in injury progression of are undefined. Our purpose was to test the hypothesis that male hypertensive rats have accelerated renal injury compared to females and to determine the contributions of the nitric oxide pathway and oxidative stress in these differences.

Sildenafil Citrate Does Not Reprogram Risk of Hypertension and Chronic Kidney Disease in Offspring of Preeclamptic Pregnancies in the Dahl SS/Jr Rat.

Background: Preeclampsia is a disorder of pregnancy with accompanying high disease and economic burdens in the United States. Evidence supporting longstanding effects of preeclampsia on the offspring of affected pregnancies is high, but the effects of current antihypertensive therapies for preeclampsia on cardio-renal outcomes are largely unknown. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that sildenafil citrate, a phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitor, reprograms the risk of hypertension and kidney disease in offspring of preeclamptic pregnancies by altering responses to secondary stressors.

Preeclampsia beyond pregnancy: long-term consequences for mother and child.

Preeclampsia is defined as new-onset hypertension after the 20th wk of gestation along with evidence of maternal organ failure. Rates of preeclampsia have steadily increased over the past 30 yr, affecting ∼4% of pregnancies in the United States and causing a high economic burden (22, 69). The pathogenesis is multifactorial, with acknowledged contributions by placental, vascular, renal, and immunological dysfunction.

Superimposed Preeclampsia Exacerbates Postpartum Renal Injury Despite Lack of Long-Term Blood Pressure Difference in the Dahl Salt-Sensitive Rat.

Preeclampsia results in increased susceptibility to hypertension and chronic kidney disease postpartum; however, the mechanisms responsible for disease progression in these women remain unknown. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that 2 mechanisms contribute to the link between the maternal syndrome of preeclampsia and the increased postpartum risk of cardiovascular and renal disease: (1) increased T cells in the kidney and (2) a decreased NO:ET-1 (endothelin-1) ratio. Dahl S rats (a previously characterized model of preeclampsia superimposed on chronic hypertension) who experienced 2 pregnancies and virgin littermate controls were studied at 6 months of age.

Plasma Cell Depletion Attenuates Hypertension in an Experimental Model of Autoimmune Disease.

Numerous studies show a direct relation between circulating autoantibodies, characteristic of systemic autoimmune disorders, and primary hypertension in humans. Whether these autoantibodies mechanistically contribute to the development of hypertension remains unclear. Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune disorder characterized by aberrant immunoglobulin production, notably pathogenic autoantibodies, and is associated with prevalent hypertension, renal injury, and cardiovascular disease.