Could Punctured Cells Cause High Blood Pressure? Study

Researchers from the University of Southern Denmark have discovered that a mutated protein that creates punctures in the cell's membrane can lead to high blood pressure.

"This knowledge can now lead to new and better medicines for high blood pressure", said the lead author of a new scientific publication, PhD student Wojciech Kopec from the Center for Biomembrane Physics (MEMPHYS) at the University of Southern Denmark, via a press release.

Some years ago, Kopec added that a particular mutated protein was discovered that created high blood pressure. However, the exact mechanism at play which caused this problem could not be clarified at the time.

Kopec and colleagues from the University of Aarhus revealed the mechanism behind the protein. Here's what they found, courtesy of the release: "The mutated protein leads to the formation of holes in a protein sitting in a cell's membrane, and so the cell can no longer control what is allowed into and out of the cell interior. The holes are made where the cell controls its content of salts. A normal, healthy cell has full control of how much salt (sodium ions) must be removed from within the cell so that it can maintain a perfect salt balance in the organism, it is a part of."

"But when there are holes, sodium ions can penetrate into the cell, so the salt levels go up. Too high salt levels are associated with many diseases, including high blood pressure", explained Kopec.

He adds that this new knowledge will be particularly use for the medical industry when developing new drugs.

"Medicine is molecules, and therefore it is in principle easy to develop a molecular formula that can close the holes in the membrane", he concludes, via the release.

More information regarding the study can be found via the journal Biochemistry.