Abstract P177: High salt modulates Antigen Presenting Cell TNF-alpha production in an Isolevuglandin-dependent manner in Hypertensive Humans

Abstract

Salt intake is a predisposing factor to high blood pressure in people with salt sensitivity, but the mechanisms are not fully understood. Previously, we found that the epithelial sodium channel facilitates sodium entry into antigen-presenting cells (APCs), leading to the production of Isolevuglandins (IsoLGs) and hypertension via proinflammatory cytokines. TNF-alpha is a major proinflammatory cytokine that is produced in response to oxidative stress. We hypothesize that high salt intake-associated increased production of IsoLGs activates TNF-alpha-dependent mechanisms to contribute to salt-sensitive hypertension. To test this hypothesis, we conducted bulk RNA sequencing on isolated human monocytes with and without high salt. We also performed in vivo studies on humans living with hypertension using the rigorous Weinberger salt loading and depletion protocol at baseline (B), salt loading (SL), and salt depletion (SD) timepoints. We found that in vitro high salt treatment increased human monocyte expression of TNF-α, TNFRSF1A and TNFRSF1B (117.09 ± 23.71 vs 357.82 ± 59.62, p=0.001; 4560 ± 430.02 vs 6189 ± 461.11, p=0.0014 and 43824.73 ± 6462.55 vs 54585.64 ± 5383.58, p=0.0336 respectively, [n=11]) when compared to normal salt. In vivo studies on 16 hypertensive subjects reveal mean blood pressures as baseline (SBP: 137.7 ± 3.1, DBP: 85±2.2, MAP 104.7±2.1 [mmHg]), salt-loading (SBP: 141.3 ± 2.9, DBP: 86.1±2.3, MAP 105.6±2.2 [mmHg]), and salt-depletion (SBP: 138.7 ± 2.9, DBP: 87±2.4, MAP 104.7±2.1 [mmHg]). Using flow cytometry, we determined the buildup of Isolevuglandin adducts in APCs as follows: B: 57.6±6.4, SL: 59.8±4.6, SD: 46.0±7.1 (dendritic cells); B: 78.6±5.8, SL: 77.3±5.7, SD: 61.0±6.9 (CD14 + cells); B: 83.2±4.9, SL: 74.0±6.4, SD: 63.3±8.2 (CD14 + 16 + cells) and B: 63.3± 5.7, SL: 54.2±6.1, SD: 46.8±7.9 (CD16+ cells). In response to salt loading, patient plasma levels of TNF-α were B: 13.8±0.5 pg/mL, SL: 14.1±0.6 pg/mL, and SD: 15.3±1.2 pg/mL respectively. Finally, in vivo single-cell transcriptomic analysis in peripheral blood mononuclear cells revealed that in response to high salt treatment, TNF expression changes dynamically with blood pressure in salt-sensitive, but not salt-resistant patients. These preliminary findings suggest that TNF-α plays a role in salt-sensitive hypertension, possibly following IsoLG-driven reactive oxygen species generation. Further studies are needed to delineate specific dependent mechanisms by which this occurs.