The hypertension vaccine was tested on rats
Japanese scientists create a vaccine against high blood pressure
High blood pressure is one of the most serious risk factors for the development of cardiovascular diseases. It can be associated with overweight, smoking, sedentary lifestyle, stress, genetics.
Beta-blockers and ACE inhibitors are traditionally used for the treatment of hypertension. But in addition to drug therapy, doctors recommend patients to think about their lifestyle and try to change it. The problem is that many people forget to take medications or they turn out to be ineffective, for many, changing their lifestyle is an impossible task.
"Often people stop taking medications prescribed by their doctor, and then it can lead to a stroke or other serious disorders of the cardiovascular system. The vaccine will help to better control blood pressure, which means it will help to avoid many serious consequences," says the lead author of the study, Professor Hironori Nakagami (in a press release from the American Heart Association Future vaccine may help lower blood pressure long–term).
Recall that any vaccine is aimed at organizing the immune response of the body. For example, a vaccine against infectious diseases contains key proteins of a bacterium or virus that serve as antigens and trigger an immune system response. Since it turns out that the pathogen is killed or weakened, this reaction is not strong – the person does not really get sick, the symptoms of the disease may not manifest at all. But at the same time, the immunological memory will remain. When faced with a real infection, the body will be armed and able to cope with it.
A few years ago, scientists began working on creating vaccines against blood pressure. These vaccines direct the immune response in such a way that it regulates the work of the hormone angiotensin II. This hormone causes narrowing of blood vessels, which increases blood pressure.
Such a vaccine was first obtained by doctors under the guidance of Dr. Martin Bachmann in 2008. Then the results of the scientists' work were published in the journal The Lancet. However, this vaccine caused unpleasant side effects resembling flu symptoms. Therefore, her clinical trials have not begun.
Professor Nakagami's team managed to go further and create a DNA vaccine against high blood pressure. A DNA vaccine is a bioengineered construct that, after being injected into a cell, triggers an immune response. As shown by the tests of the new hypertension vaccine on rats, the animals did not experience any unpleasant side effects, adds Professor Nakagami.
"We have developed a DNA vaccine that induces the formation of antibodies to the hormone angiotensin II and suppresses its activity. Thus, it allows you to fight hypertension. However, it is unclear how long such protection lasts," says Professor Nakagami. He adds at the same time that the vaccine still works for a certain period of time.
It is worth noting that DNA vaccines are currently used only for animals. In 2005, for the first time, a DNA vaccine was approved for the vaccination of horses against West Nile fever virus.
The article by Professor Nikagami and his colleagues was published in the latest issue of the journal Hypertension (Hiroshi Koriyama et al., Long-Term Reduction of High Blood Pressure by Angiotensin II DNA Vaccine in Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats – VM).
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru28.05.2015