HomeHypertensionVol. 78, No. 1Clinical Implications Free AccessIn BriefPDF/EPUBAboutView PDFView EPUBSections ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload citationsTrack citationsPermissions ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InMendeleyRedditDiggEmail Jump toFree AccessIn BriefPDF/EPUBClinical Implications Renata Gil Renata GilRenata Gil https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9611-1597 Search for more papers by this author Originally published9 Jun 2021https://doi.org/10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.121.17551Hypertension. 2021;78:3is related toIn Aged Females, the Enhanced Pressor Response to Angiotensin II Is Attenuated By Estrogen Replacement via an Angiotensin Type 2 Receptor-Mediated MechanismInduction of the PPARγ (Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor γ)-GCM1 (Glial Cell Missing 1) Syncytialization Axis Reduces sFLT1 (Soluble fms-Like Tyrosine Kinase 1) in the Preeclamptic PlacentaOccupational Physical Activity and New-Onset Hypertension: A Nationwide Cohort Study in ChinaOccupational Activity and New-Onset Hypertension (page 220)Download figureDownload PowerPointThe nature of occupational physical activity (OPA) is vastly different (low intensity, long duration, highly repetitive, or done in a static posture) from the types of physical activity that is recommended by health guidelines. Furthermore, that OPA could be potentially detrimental for health is of great public health importance and warrants further investigation. However, to date, the association between the risk of hypertension and OPA remains uncertain. Using data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey, we first demonstrated that there was an L-shaped association between the OPA and new-onset hypertension in men and a U-shaped association in women. OPA was categorized based on a 40-hour work as <2 (light), 2 to 4 (light to moderate), 4 to 6 (moderate to heavy), and ≥6 (heavy) metabolic equivalent task values, that is, <80, 80 to <160, 160 to <240, and ≥240 metabolic equivalent task hours per week. In men, the risk of new-onset hypertension was significantly increased only among participants with OPA <80 metabolic equivalent task hours per week; however, in women, the lowest risk of new-onset hypertension was found among those with OPA 80 to 240 metabolic equivalent task hours per week. In summary, moderate OPA, in terms of both duration and intensity, is associated with a lower risk of new-onset hypertension among both sexes, whereas heavy OPA was related to increased risk of new-onset hypertension in women only. Our findings suggest that considering OPA might be relevant in the primary prevention of hypertension.Modulation of the AT2R by Estrogen in Aged Females (page 128)Download figureDownload PowerPointThe risk of developing hypertension increases with age. This is particularly true in women after menopause, when blood pressure rises more steeply than in men. Seventy percent of women aged 60 to 70 years are hypertensive, and this rises to 80% after the age of 75 years. Estrogen has protective actions in premenopausal women, but controversy exists around whether hormone replacement therapy is cardioprotective. Currently, hormone replacement therapy is not recommended for the prevention of hypertension. Continued work is needed to fully understand how estrogen affects the cardiovascular system and blood pressure regulation, to disentangle its beneficial and adverse effects. The present study examined the impact of estrogen replacement in aged mice that had recently entered reproductive senescence. The ability of the prohypertensive hormone, angiotensin II, to increase blood pressure was enhanced in aged compared with adult mice. Estrogen replacement reduced the pressor response in aged females, in association with a marked increase in renal AT2 (angiotensin type 2) receptor expression. Furthermore, this beneficial action of estrogen in aged mice was prevented by AT2 receptor blockade. The AT2 receptor is expressed on the X chromosome, and evidence suggests that the AT2 receptor has an enhanced role in premenopausal women, particularly in the kidney. Clinically, the ability of estrogen to increase AT2 receptor expression could provide a pathway via which hormone replacement therapy may exert cardioprotective effects. More importantly, this work suggests it may be possible to bypass the need for hormone replacement therapy, to provide continued protection in women as they age by direct manipulation of the AT2 receptor.Modulation of sFLT1 by the PPARγ-GCM1 Axis (page 230)Download figureDownload PowerPointIatrogenic preterm delivery for severe preeclampsia is a frustrating decision for clinicians to make in 2021. Despite antihypertensive therapies, this disease progressively damages crucial maternal organs and the coagulation system. An endocrine link between the underlying placental disease and multiorgan injury is now understood. Chronic ischemia in the early second trimester inhibits the developing placenta from making protective PlGF (placenta growth factor) and causes it to secrete excessive sFLT1 (soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1), which inhibits systemic vasorelaxation via local VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor). Pharmacological approaches that either rescue PlGF production or repress overexpression of sFLT1 offer a novel alternative to delivery. Here, we present molecular data demonstrating that activation of PPARγ (peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma) signaling within explanted villi from women with severe preeclampsia restores GCM1 (glial cell missing 1)-mediated physiological syncytialization. This in turn represses excessive sFLT1 secretion. We achieved this effect using the PPARγ agonist rosiglitazone—a drug commonly used in diabetes care. Our findings create an opportunity to test the hypothesis that a drug intervention designed to restore normal trophoblast development could effectively reverse the core pathogenesis of severe preeclampsia. Logically, this should be tested in the highest risk women—those with low circulating PlGF levels and abnormal uterine artery Doppler at a 20- to 22-week gestation. A strategy of pharmacological normalization of an abnormal circulating angiogenic profile before the development of hypertension may at last offer an elegant intervention that is of greater value than preterm birth by cesarean due to maternal ill health and hypertension. Previous Back to top Next FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsRelated articlesIn Aged Females, the Enhanced Pressor Response to Angiotensin II Is Attenuated By Estrogen Replacement via an Angiotensin Type 2 Receptor-Mediated MechanismGiannie Barsha, et al. Hypertension. 2021;78:128-137Induction of the PPARγ (Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor γ)-GCM1 (Glial Cell Missing 1) Syncytialization Axis Reduces sFLT1 (Soluble fms-Like Tyrosine Kinase 1) in the Preeclamptic PlacentaBrooke Armistead, et al. Hypertension. 2021;78:230-240Occupational Physical Activity and New-Onset Hypertension: A Nationwide Cohort Study in ChinaQinqin Li, et al. Hypertension. 2021;78:220-229 July 2021Vol 78, Issue 1Article InformationMetrics Download: 380 © 2021 American Heart Association, Inc.https://doi.org/10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.121.17551 Originally publishedJune 9, 2021 PDF download