Emerging concept: bringing our trainees into focus

Abstract

EditorialEmerging concept: bringing our trainees into focusJennifer C. SullivanJennifer C. SullivanDepartment of Physiology, Georgia Regents University, Augusta, GeorgiaPublished Online:15 Jul 2015https://doi.org/10.1152/ajprenal.00179.2015This is the final version - click for previous versionMoreSectionsPDF (28 KB)Download PDF ToolsExport citationAdd to favoritesGet permissionsTrack citations the american journal of physiology-Renal Physiology is pleased to announce a new series of articles named Mini-Review: Emerging Concepts. The goal of this series of articles is to focus on current topics and emerging areas of research that trainees in renal physiology are addressing. These reviews will be no longer than 1,500 words, are limited to one figure, and consistent with the goals of the journal, will address a broad range of physiological and pathophysiological subjects relating to the kidney and urinary tract including both basic science and clinical studies. Since these mini-reviews will often cover emerging or developing areas of research, they will have a much narrower scope than traditional, full-length review articles and will typically focus on a single question. Therefore, while the primary purpose of full-length review articles remains to educate readers by providing a comprehensive view of completed works in a concise, unified format, the mini-reviews will provide our readers with an introduction to an area that is still evolving with the potential to shape the direction of the field in the future. As with all manuscripts considered for publication in the American Journal of Physiology-Renal Physiology, all mini-reviews will undergo peer review, however, the review criteria will reflect the focused nature and space constraints of this article series.This is an invitation-based series of articles. Initial invitations were extended to all of the trainee and early career finalists and awardees selected by the American Physiological Society Renal Section Awards committee for acknowledgment at Experimental Biology 2014. This included all finalists for the 2014 Renal Section Pre-Doctoral and Post-Doctoral Excellence in Renal Research Awards and the Renal Section Research Recognition Awardees. As such, a secondary goal of this series of mini-reviews is to more fully engage our trainees in helping to lead the field of renal physiology. The first of these mini-reviews has been published in a recent issue of the journal (2).There is an ever-expanding literature base implicating immune cells in the development of hypertension and the related renal injury (for recent reviews, see Refs. 3–5) and the authors of our first published mini-review are pioneers in this field. Guzik et al. (1) were the first to demonstrate that Rag-1−/− mice, which lack B and T lymphocytes, have a blunted hypertensive response to ANG II infusion. Adoptive transfer of T lymphocytes into male Rag−/− mice restored the hypertensive response to ANG II; adoptive transfer of B lymphocytes did not alter the blood pressure response.An emerging area of research related to immune cells in hypertension is immunological memory. Immunological memory allows for protection against an antigen that has previously been encountered. While the formation of memory T cells is critical for the ability of the immune system to respond to pathogens, Itani and Harrison (2) suggest that memory T cells may also be important in maintaining T cell activation in sustained hypertension. Better understanding of the activation of specific T cell subtypes in hypertension holds the potential to provide novel methods to treat and hypertension and the related end-organ damage.DISCLOSURESNo conflicts of interest, financial or otherwise, are declared by the author.AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONSAuthor contributions: J.C.S. drafted manuscript; J.C.S. edited and revised manuscript; J.C.S. approved final version of manuscript.REFERENCES1. Guzik TJ, Hoch NE, Brown KA, McCann LA, Rahman A, Dikalov S, Goronzy J, Weyand C, Harrison DG. Role of the T cell in the genesis of angiotensin II induced hypertension and vascular dysfunction. J Exp Med 204: 2449–2460, 2007.Crossref | PubMed | ISI | Google Scholar2. Itani HA, Harrison DG. Memories that last in hypertension. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol 308: F1197–F1199, 2015.Link | ISI | Google Scholar3. Mattson DL. Infiltrating immune cells in the kidney in salt-sensitive hypertension and renal injury. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol 307: F499–F508, 2014.Link | ISI | Google Scholar4. Trott DW, Harrison DG. The immune system in hypertension. Adv Physiol Educ 38: 20–24, 2014.Link | ISI | Google Scholar5. Zhang J, Crowley SD. Role of T lymphocytes in hypertension. Curr Opin Pharmacol 21: 14–19, 2015.Crossref | PubMed | ISI | Google ScholarAUTHOR NOTESAddress for reprint requests and other correspondence: J. C. Sullivan, 1459 Laney Walker Blvd., Georgia Regents Univ., Augusta, GA 30912 (e-mail: [email protected]edu). Download PDF Back to Top Next FiguresReferencesRelatedInformation More from this issue > Volume 309Issue 2July 2015Pages F89-F89 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2015 the American Physiological Societyhttps://doi.org/10.1152/ajprenal.00179.2015History Published online 15 July 2015 Published in print 15 July 2015 Metrics