Grant: Operating Grant

High blood pressure (BP), also called hypertension, affects 30% of adult Canadians and is the leading cause of death worldwide, since it is a major risk factor for heart disease, kidney failure and stroke. Despite extensive research and availability of many antihypertensive drugs, we still do not know exactly what causes high BP and why some individuals are more predisposed than others. Moreover, even though there are many different drugs to treat high BP, only a small percentage of patients are adequately managed. More research investigating the causes of hypertension will facilitate a better understanding of the disease so that improved therapies can be developed, which would reduce BP and hence improve the health of Canadians. We know that hypertension is associated with damage to blood vessels, especially the small arteries, which contribute to the processes of blood pressure elevation. However we still do not know exactly what causes the damage. My laboratory focuses on special proteins that may influence the function of vessels, which when altered could result in inflammation, injury and thickening of arteries. Such damage to small arteries leads to blood pressure elevation. Specifically, we examine a protein called TRPM7, which regulates the magnesium levels as well as other cellular processes that ultimately influence the function (contraction) and structure (artery wall thickness) of vessels. TRPM7 may also influence heart and kidney function. We believe that abnormal TRPM7 activity contributes to processes that cause injury to blood vessels and hence to the development of hypertension. If this is correct, then we could develop special drugs to "normalize" TRPM7, which would prevent or improve the vascular damage and hence reduce BP. Such strategies could improve the well-being of the Canadian population at large.