Abstract P159: Scavengers of Isolevuglandins as Novel Therapeutic Approaches for Treating Hypertension & Associated Inflammation

Abstract

Adaptive immunity and especially T lymphocytes play a crucial role in the development of hypertension. Proteins that are oxidatively modified by highly reactive isolevuglandins (isoLGs) accumulate in dendritic cells & lead to subsequent activation of T lymphocytes. This process can be prevented by compounds known to scavenge isoLGs, such as 2-hydroxybenzylamine (2-HOBA). The overall goal of current study is to develop novel antihypertensive drugs based on this isoLG scavenging strategy, that will not only prevent but will also reverse hypertension and its associated inflammatory end-organ damage. Initially, the preventative effects of 10 putative isoLG scavengers were tested. C57Bl/6 mice received angiotensin (Ang) II (490 ng/kg/min) infusion for 14 days. Each compound was administered in the drinking water (1mg/ml) at the onset of Ang II infusion for 7 days to a half of the mice & for entire 14 day period to another half of the animals. Blood pressure was measured by tail cuff method. Among 10 compounds, we found that 2-HOBA, methyl 2HOBA (Me2HOBA) & 3-methoxy2-HOBA (3-Mo2HOBA) were most effective in lowering blood pressure. Interestingly, the pyridoxamine analogs were not effectively lowered blood pressure. We further examined the efficacy of our 3 most effective compounds in reversing established hypertension. Mice received Ang II infusion for 6 weeks and received each study drug (2 mg/ml) during the last 4 weeks. We employed radiotelemetry to monitor blood pressure. Compared with untreated mice, Me2-HOBA, 3-Mo2-HOBA & 2-HOBA were equally effective in lowering blood pressure by 20 mmHg (all p < 0.05 vs no drug). Six weeks of Ang II infusion caused 2- to 4-fold increases in renal T cell (CD3 + ) & monocyte/macrophage (F4/80 + ) infiltration as measured by immunohistochemistry & all three compounds markedly reduced these by 50%. These treatments also reduced aortic fibrosis as measured by Masson’s Trichrome blue staining. We conclude that these isoLG scavengers can be potentially used as new effective therapy for lowering blood pressure & attenuating hypertensive renal & vascular damage. Variability of in vivo effectiveness for the different scavengers likely reflects differences in bioavailability due to structure & lypophilicity.