Hypertensive disorders are major contributors to cardiovascular diseases and pose significant health risks worldwide. Vascular remodeling—a process involving the structural reconfiguration of blood vessel walls—is critical in maintaining vascular integrity and function. Among the key players in this process are the extracellular matrix (ECM) metalloproteinases (MMPs), a family of enzymes responsible for the degradation of ECM proteins.
Although MMPs are essential for physiological processes such as wound healing and angiogenesis, their dysregulation can contribute to pathological conditions. In hypertensive disorders, hyperactivation of MMPs can lead to excessive ECM degradation, resulting in adverse vascular remodeling. This pathological remodeling contributes to increased vascular stiffness, endothelial dysfunction, and arterial hypertension. Key bioactive factors, including reactive oxygen species (ROS), hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF), and pro-inflammatory cytokines, further exacerbate these changes by targeting the vascular endothelium and smooth muscle, leading to inadequate vascular remodeling and hyper-reactive vasoconstriction.
Understanding the complex interactions between MMPs, ECM, and bioactive factors is crucial for developing effective therapeutic strategies to mitigate the pathophysiological changes associated with hypertensive disorders. Therefore, this Research Topic aims to bring together research that advances our knowledge in this field and informs the development of novel treatments for hypertension and its complications.
We seek contributions that explore the differential expression and functional roles of specific MMPs in various hypertensive disorders, the impact of MMPs on vascular ECM composition, structural integrity, and function, and mechanistic studies on how ROS, HIF, and cytokines regulate MMP activity and contribute to endothelial dysfunction and vascular smooth muscle cell function. Further areas of interest include preclinical and clinical studies assessing the efficacy of MMP inhibitors or other pharmacological agents targeting MMP pathways in hypertension, innovative methodologies for monitoring MMP activity and ECM remodeling, and the identification and validation of biomarkers for predicting disease progression and therapeutic response in hypertensive disorders.
Keywords:
Metalloproteinases (MMPs), Vascular Remodeling, Hypertension, Bioactive Factors
Important Note:
All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
Hypertensive disorders are major contributors to cardiovascular diseases and pose significant health risks worldwide. Vascular remodeling—a process involving the structural reconfiguration of blood vessel walls—is critical in maintaining vascular integrity and function. Among the key players in this process are the extracellular matrix (ECM) metalloproteinases (MMPs), a family of enzymes responsible for the degradation of ECM proteins.
Although MMPs are essential for physiological processes such as wound healing and angiogenesis, their dysregulation can contribute to pathological conditions. In hypertensive disorders, hyperactivation of MMPs can lead to excessive ECM degradation, resulting in adverse vascular remodeling. This pathological remodeling contributes to increased vascular stiffness, endothelial dysfunction, and arterial hypertension. Key bioactive factors, including reactive oxygen species (ROS), hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF), and pro-inflammatory cytokines, further exacerbate these changes by targeting the vascular endothelium and smooth muscle, leading to inadequate vascular remodeling and hyper-reactive vasoconstriction.
Understanding the complex interactions between MMPs, ECM, and bioactive factors is crucial for developing effective therapeutic strategies to mitigate the pathophysiological changes associated with hypertensive disorders. Therefore, this Research Topic aims to bring together research that advances our knowledge in this field and informs the development of novel treatments for hypertension and its complications.
We seek contributions that explore the differential expression and functional roles of specific MMPs in various hypertensive disorders, the impact of MMPs on vascular ECM composition, structural integrity, and function, and mechanistic studies on how ROS, HIF, and cytokines regulate MMP activity and contribute to endothelial dysfunction and vascular smooth muscle cell function. Further areas of interest include preclinical and clinical studies assessing the efficacy of MMP inhibitors or other pharmacological agents targeting MMP pathways in hypertension, innovative methodologies for monitoring MMP activity and ECM remodeling, and the identification and validation of biomarkers for predicting disease progression and therapeutic response in hypertensive disorders.
Keywords:
Metalloproteinases (MMPs), Vascular Remodeling, Hypertension, Bioactive Factors
Important Note:
All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.