Molecular mechanisms linking salt to hypertension

It is well known that there is no single cause of hypertension, but many of the factors that contribute to hypertension are known. Our latest podcast spotlights an elegant new Review article by Blaustein and colleagues which focuses on the interplay of salt and the secretion and action of endogenous ouabain. Associate Editor Irving Zucker interviews senior author, and fellow Associate Editor, Mordecai Blaustein (University of Maryland), along with leading expert John Osborn (University of Minnesota) about how endogenous ouabain might contribute to salt-sensitive hypertension and plays a central role in the alterations in the central nervous system, kidney and vasculature which contribute to chronic hypertension.

Mordecai P. Blaustein, Frans HH Leenen, Ling Chen, Vera A. Golovina, John M Hamlyn, Thomas L Pallone, James W. Van Huysse, Jin Zhang, Withrow Gil Wier. How NaCl raises blood pressure: A new paradigm for the pathogenesis of salt-dependent hypertension Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol, published ahead of print November 4, 2011, doi:10.1152/ajpheart.00899.2011.