High salt diets have grown increasingly prevalent in the Western world and contribute to increased risk of cardiovascular disease including hypertension and chronic kidney disease. The renal endothelin system has emerged an important control system for sodium and water excretion and so derangements in this pathway could provide insights for potential new therapeutic approaches. Abnormalities in circadian rhythms are associated with increased risk of a wide range of metabolic, cardiovascular, and other disorders. Furthermore, cardiovascular events are far more prevalent at specific times of day suggesting a circadian contribution of cardiovascular disease. Recent studies have revealed that the peripheral molecular clock regulates water and sodium homeostasis, but the underlying mechanisms are unclear. We recently observed that Bmal1, a circadian-dependent transcription factor, loses its rhythmicity under high salt diet conditions and appears to be regulated by the endothelin (ET) system. Rats lacking a functional ETB receptor have a severely delayed response to an acute salt load that is dependent upon the time of day. Therefore, our goal is to determine the relationship between the ET-1 system and circadian regulation of sodium excretion.
Aim 1 is designed to test the hypothesis that ETB receptor activation suppresses Bmal1 to facilitate sodium excretion and account for diurnal renal sodium handling.
Aim 2 will test the hypothesis that Bmal1 functions to suppress sodium excretion. We have also uncovered that female rats are protected against the loss of excretory control in a diurnal manner that may be due to differences in sex steroid function. Thus, Aim 3 will test the hypothesis that the balance between effects of testosterone and estrogen effects on vascular ETA receptor function accounts for sex differences in diurnal control of sodium excretion.

Public Health Relevance

PROJECT 1 NARRATIVE Hypertension remains the major risk factor for a huge number of cardiovascular diseases including chronic kidney disease and stroke. Much of this problem is due to the so-called ?Western? diet rich in salt, which expands the scope of the problem. Disruption of daily rhythms increase the risk of cardiovascular and metabolic disease, for example, many cardiovascular events occur more frequently at specific times of day. Furthermore, many cardiovascular risk factors are different between men and women. Studies in the current proposal will elucidate the mechanisms responsible for defects in salt handling in clinically relevant animal models and allow us to learn more about time of day and sex differences that could lead to the development of novel treatment regimens.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
Type
Research Program Projects (P01)
Project #
5P01HL136267-03
Application #
9672569
Study Section
Heart, Lung, and Blood Initial Review Group (HLBP)
Program Officer
Maric-Bilkan, Christine
Project Start
Project End
Budget Start
2019-04-01
Budget End
2020-03-31
Support Year
3
Fiscal Year
2019
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Alabama Birmingham
Department
Type
DUNS #
063690705
City
Birmingham
State
AL
Country
United States
Zip Code
35294
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De Miguel, Carmen; Sedaka, Randee; Kasztan, Malgorzata et al. (2018) Tauroursodeoxycholic acid (TUDCA) abolishes chronic high salt-induced renal injury and inflammation. Acta Physiol (Oxf) :e13227
Johnston, Jermaine G; Pollock, David M (2018) Circadian regulation of renal function. Free Radic Biol Med 119:93-107
Ramkumar, N; Stuart, D; Abraham, N et al. (2018) Nephron prorenin receptor deficiency alters renal medullary endothelin-1 and endothelin receptor expression. Physiol Res 67:S127-S136