CYP provides hypertension target

Cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes have long been associated with drug metabolism. But new research suggests CYP4A may be a good candidate for treating hypertension. Last week, researchers reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy Sciences that a disruption in a CYP4A gene in mice resulted in hypertension with increased severity in males versus females, a common feature of the disease.

Vanderbilt University researchers and colleagues showed that disruption in the CYP4A14 gene, one of the many isoforms of CYP4A monooxygenases, significantly increased mean systolic and diastolic arterial blood pressure in mice. Moreover, lack of functional CYP4A14 in male mice led to increases in plasma androgens (testosterone and dihydrotestosterone) and gene expression of another isoform, CYP4A12. Expression of CYP4A12 was responsible for the formation of pro-hypertensive 20-hydroxyarachadonic acid (20-HETE) in the animals. ...