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Genetically Encoded Calcium Indicators: A New Tool in Renal Hypertension Research

Cheng Zhong1, Johanna Schleifenbaum1

  • 1Institute of Vegetative Physiology, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.

Frontiers in Medicine
|July 3, 2019
PubMed

Insights

Hypertension, a growing health concern, involves dysfunctional calcium signaling in blood vessels. Genetically encoded calcium indicators (GECIs) in mouse models offer new ways to study and treat this condition.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiovascular Research
  • Nephrology
  • Molecular Biology

Background:

  • Hypertension is a leading cause of disability and its prevalence is increasing globally.
  • Renovascular disease is a common cause of secondary hypertension.
  • Vascular dysfunction in hypertension is linked to aberrant calcium signaling.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To highlight the role of calcium signaling in hypertension.
  • To discuss the utility of calcium indicators, particularly genetically encoded calcium indicators (GECIs), in studying vascular and renal physiology.
  • To emphasize the potential of GECI-expressing transgenic mouse models for cell-type-specific research.

Main Methods:

  • Review of current literature on hypertension, calcium signaling, and calcium indicators.
  • Focus on the advancements and applications of genetically encoded calcium indicators (GECIs).
  • Discussion of the use of transgenic mouse models for in vivo studies.

Main Results:

  • Genetically encoded calcium indicators (GECIs) are increasingly utilized in research on vascular and renal calcium signaling.
  • Transgenic mouse models expressing GECIs enable cell-type-specific investigation of calcium signaling pathways.
  • These models provide novel avenues for understanding the mechanisms underlying hypertension.

Conclusions:

  • Dysfunctional calcium signaling is a key factor in vascular changes associated with hypertension.
  • Genetically encoded calcium indicators (GECIs) are powerful tools for studying calcium dynamics in hypertension research.
  • GECI-expressing mouse models offer significant potential for identifying targeted treatments for renal hypertension.

Keywords:
GCaMPcalciumhypertensionimagingkidney

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