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NHLBI working group identifies knowledge gaps on role of microbiota in BP regulation
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The NHLBI announced that it convened a working group to share current scientific knowledge on the role of microbiota in the regulation of BP.
The working group identified knowledge gaps and challenges in the field and plans to publish a manuscript in a peer-reviewed journal, according to a press release from the institute.
According to the release, it is known that dysregulation of microbiota contributes to the pathophysiology of conditions such as CVD, metabolic syndrome, obesity and kidney disease, and some studies have suggested that gut and oral microbiota may influence the body’s ability to maintain BP homeostasis.
There are ways to alter such microbiota, including through diet, according to the release, but the mechanisms by which microbiota interact the with vasculature, brain and kidney, among other systems, are poorly understood, the NHLBI stated.
The working group of 16 experts from CV, hypertension and other backgrounds reviewed the scientific evidence for a connection between gut and oral microbiota and BP regulation.
According to the release, the group concluded that gut and oral microbiota do play an important role in BP regulation, and factors altering microbiota and leading to conditions such as hypertension can be genetic, environmental, dietary, related to aging and related to emotions.
The working group suggested that several hypotheses be tested in clinical studies, including that the influence of microbiota on BP can explain differences in outcomes, particularly by ethnicity, of BP-lowering drugs; that anti-inflammatory drugs, antibiotics, diet and exercise influence BP through altered microbiota; that the link between high BP and kidney disease is related to microbial dysbiosis; that therapies targeting microbiota could mitigate arterial dysfunction; and that microbial metabolites and nucleotides can serve as biomarkers in personalized-medicine efforts to treat hypertension.
The group also recommended that several hypotheses be tested in animal models. These include that high BP develops in part from contributions from the kidney-brain-gut axis; that BP is affected by host genome-microbiome cross-talk; that age-related diseases such as hypertension and chronic kidney disease may be associated with specific changes to microbiota; that bacteria in the gut, tongue dorsum and skin influence the development of high BP; that gut microbiota plays a crucial role in resistant hypertension; and that nutrition-driven factors such as salt sensitivity affect BP regulation through altered microbiota.