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Improved Renal Denervation Mitigated Hypertension Induced by Angiotensin II Infusion
Published on: May 26, 2022
Vaccine Development against the Renin-Angiotensin System for the Treatment of Hypertension
Tatsuhiko Azegami1,2, Hiroshi Itoh2
1Health Center, Keio University, 4-1-1 Hiyoshi, Kohoku-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa 223-8521, Japan.
Insights
Therapeutic vaccines offer a novel approach to managing hypertension by improving medication adherence. Advances in vaccinology, like virus-like particles, show promise for effective, long-term blood pressure control.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Medicine
- Immunology
- Vaccinology
Background:
- Hypertension is a major global health concern and a leading preventable cause of cardiovascular disease.
- Poor medication adherence and blood pressure control in hypertensive patients stem from hypertension's chronic and asymptomatic nature.
- Current treatments face challenges with patient adherence, necessitating novel therapeutic strategies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the historical development of immunotherapies for hypertension treatment.
- To discuss the potential of therapeutic vaccines in managing hypertension.
- To explore current perspectives and future directions in antihypertensive vaccine development.
Main Methods:
- Review of historical attempts at antihypertensive vaccine development.
- Examination of advancements in immunology and vaccinology, including antigen design and delivery systems.
- Analysis of the impact of virus-like particle technology in vaccine development.
Main Results:
- Early antihypertensive vaccine attempts failed due to limited understanding of immunology and suboptimal vaccine technologies.
- Recent progress in vaccinology has enabled the development of promising immunotherapeutic strategies for noncommunicable diseases.
- A human clinical trial demonstrated the safety and efficacy of a virus-like particle-based antiangiotensin II vaccine.
Conclusions:
- Immunotherapeutic approaches, particularly vaccines, hold potential for improving medication adherence and long-term blood pressure control in hypertension.
- Virus-like particle technology offers an effective platform for antigen delivery, potentially overcoming limitations of earlier vaccine strategies.
- Therapeutic antihypertensive vaccines represent a promising frontier in managing hypertension, with ongoing research and clinical trials.
Abstract:
Hypertension is a global public health issue and the most important preventable cause of cardiovascular diseases. Despite the clinical availability of many antihypertensive drugs, many hypertensive patients have poor medication adherence and blood pressure control due, at least partially, to the asymptomatic and chronic characteristics of hypertension. Immunotherapeutic approaches have the potential to improve medication adherence in hypertension because they induce prolonged therapeutic effects and need a low frequency of administration. The first attempts to reduce blood pressure by using vaccines targeting the renin-angiotensin system were made more than half a century ago; however, at the time, a poor understanding of immunology and the mechanisms of hypertension and a lack of optimal vaccine technologies such as suitable antigen design, proper adjuvants, and effective antigen delivery systems meant that attempts to develop antihypertensive vaccines failed. Recent advances in immunology and vaccinology have provided potential therapeutic immunologic approaches to treat not only infectious diseases but also cancers and other noncommunicable diseases. One important biotechnology that has had a major impact on modern vaccinology is virus-like particle technology, which can efficiently deliver vaccine antigens without the need for artificial adjuvants. A human clinical trial that indicated the effectiveness and safety of a virus-like particle-based antiangiotensin II vaccine marked a turning point in the field of therapeutic antihypertensive vaccines. Here, we review the history of the development of immunotherapies for the treatment of hypertension and discuss the current perspectives in the field.
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