OR51E1: Write down this acronym. Because behind this series of letters and numbers lies a specific olfactory receptor (defined as Olfr558 in animals), which could become the key to understanding why women, at least until menopause, tend to have blood pressure values lower than men of the same age. age. And above all, in the future, this protein found on the cell surface of humans and many animals could become a possible treatment target for hypertension.
All these perspectives are opened up by research coordinated by Jennifer Pluznickfrom Johns Hopkins University, published on Science Advances. The study reports how this protein, which detects odors and chemicals, could be responsible for sexual differences in blood pressure values. And above all it could help understand the differences in blood pressure between females and males.
On average, in fact, the maximum and minimum pressure, therefore systolic e diastolic, are approximately 10 points lower over the course of fertile life in women than in men. And it is not just the hormonal structure that explains these differences.
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The key in the kidneys
The research focuses attention on surface proteins that act as olfactory receptors. The studies began by looking for the areas of the body where the typical mammalian receptor is found, one of the three that are conserved both in humans (where it is called OR51E1) and in mice.
The receptor has been identified in renal vessels and in juxtaglomerular cells, which secrete a hormone, renin, important in regulating pressure. Then we proceeded with gender research. As expected, male mice with normal values of the Olfr558 receptor had the classic increase in blood pressure compared to females. But be careful: by removing the gene that codes for this receptor from the animals, it was seen that blood pressure values increased in female animals and decreased in males, eliminating the natural differences in childbearing age.
The reason? The vessels were less elastic and there was an alteration in renin blood levels in animals lacking the receptor. Even studying human beings we have seen something similar. By evaluating the data on the genome of tissues present in the United Kingdom biobank, it was seen that in the presence of a rare variation of the olfactory receptor OR51E1, both women and men under 50 in the presence of this mutation do not show the typical differences linked to the gender in blood pressure values.
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What can change in the future
The working hypothesis is fascinating, even if we are only at the beginning. And not only because we could understand the ways through which to regulate the pressure control mechanisms mediated by the receptor. The hope is to identify young women at risk of hypertension, defining treatment paths that go beyond the guidelines: in many cases these do not consider gender but rather the general risk profile of the individual, including age.
“Hypertension, for example, remains a poorly explored area from the point of view of the differences between men and women – he comments Silvia From France, professor of Pharmacology at the University of Turin and expert in Gender Pharmacology. We know that estrogen protects the heart and brain of women throughout life and we also know that, with the advent of menopause, when this natural protection is lacking, women are more predisposed to cognitive decline and die much more than men of cardiovascular diseases. We therefore welcome research aimed at highlighting, as in this case, factors that can predict the possibility of developing hypertension after menopause for women of childbearing age. A reference must also be made, dutifully, to therapies. For women in menopause, controlling hypertension using the therapies available today is often a nightmare. Could acting on the modulation of certain receptors open the field to more specific therapies for women? It is the hope that all of us hope for.”
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– 2024-04-02 09:42:48
