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The significance of inhibiting sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) generation for immune responses during experimental hypertension

Zhang, Yun (2020) BION03 20172
Degree Projects in Biology
Popular Abstract
A reduction of a small molecule might lower blood pressure by affecting T cells

Hypertension, also called high blood pressure, is becoming a more and more serious global health issue. According to a survey by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2019, about 1.13 billion people around the world suffering from hypertension. It is an important factor contributing to diseases involves heart and vessels (cardiovascular diseases). The number of deaths caused by cardiovascular diseases accounts for 1/3 of the total deaths worldwide every year. It is estimated that blood pressure-lowering treatment is beneficial in reducing the incidence of cardiovascular diseases.

When researchers analyze the blood taken from patients or experimental... (More)
A reduction of a small molecule might lower blood pressure by affecting T cells

Hypertension, also called high blood pressure, is becoming a more and more serious global health issue. According to a survey by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2019, about 1.13 billion people around the world suffering from hypertension. It is an important factor contributing to diseases involves heart and vessels (cardiovascular diseases). The number of deaths caused by cardiovascular diseases accounts for 1/3 of the total deaths worldwide every year. It is estimated that blood pressure-lowering treatment is beneficial in reducing the incidence of cardiovascular diseases.

When researchers analyze the blood taken from patients or experimental animals suffering from hypertension, they found two things that raised along with the blood pressure: a small molecule called sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) and a group of cells called T cell. T cell as a major defender of our body is a group of immune cells that contribute to the development of hypertension. After squeezing into the wall of vessels, T cells gradually make vessels lost their function of adjusting the blood pressure. In the end, vessels become thicker and stiff and cannot work properly. S1P acts like the signal that attracts T cell chasing after it. An increase in S1P attracts more T cells entering the blood. Putting these evidence together, S1P could be a key for us to learn about how the T cell link to the development of hypertension.

In our early study, by reducing the S1P production from the beginning, we failed to induce hypertension in mice. To test whether this could be exploited further in therapy, we made the reduction of S1P happen two weeks before the experiment ended. Mice with disrupted S1P production showed lowered blood pressure and T cells in blood. Besides, the disruption of S1P changed certain types of T cells. This leads us to link specific T cells to the therapeutic effect exerted by S1P reduction. Hopefully, we can eventually know the mechanism behind hypertension and develop efficient therapies with a better understanding of the link among S1P, T cells and hypertension.

Master’s Degree Project in Biology/General master’s program in biology 60 credits
Department of Biology, Lund University

Supervisor: Anja Meissner (anja.meissner@med.lu.se) (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Zhang, Yun
supervisor
organization
course
BION03 20172
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
language
English
id
9015170
date added to LUP
2020-06-09 14:50:15
date last changed
2020-06-09 14:50:15
@misc{9015170,
  author       = {{Zhang, Yun}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{The significance of inhibiting sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) generation for immune responses during experimental hypertension}},
  year         = {{2020}},
}