Evolution and humans: pinpoint blood pressure control (Evolution)

by David Turell @, Tuesday, October 30, 2018, 19:37 (1966 days ago) @ David Turell

Blood pressure must be exactly controlled as we change posture. You stand up suddenly but don't faint:

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-10-year-mystery-blood-pressure.html

"The baroreceptor reflex is a fascinating medical phenomenon. The reflex is controlled by specialized neurons that react in just a fraction of a second to keep blood pressure fairly consistent.

"For example, when you stand up, your blood pressure normally drops—rapidly. Yet you don't faint thanks to baroreceptors, which tell your heart rate to increase and push more blood to your brain.'

"A new Scripps Research study pinpoints the two proteins that sense blood pressure and help control the baroreceptor reflex, according to research published recently in Science. The research is the first to reveal exactly how "mechnotransduction," or the sensing of changes in pressure, works in these cells.

"Tight regulation of blood pressure is essential for health," says Wei-Zheng Zeng, Ph.D., a postdoctoral associate at Scripps Research and first author of the study. "Blood pressure is acutely sensed by baroreceptor neurons, but the mechanism of how baroreceptors sense blood pressure remained a mystery for more than 100 years."

"The two proteins—PIEZO1 and PIEZO2—were originally discovered in the lab of study senior author Ardem Patapoutian, Ph.D., a Scripps Research professor and Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator. In just the past few years, it's become clear PIEZOs do a lot of work. The Patapoutian lab has shown PIEZOs are responsible for sensing pressure in the lungs, different kinds of pain and soft touch. PIEZO1 even helps red blood cells keep their shape.

"The scientists focused on PIEZOs as possible players in the baroreceptor reflex because the genes for PIEZO1 and 2 are expressed in sensory neurons responsible for the reflex. Indeed, in the recent experiments with a mouse model, the scientists found that both PIEZOs are necessary for maintaining blood pressure through the reflex."

Comment: This reflex has to go back to early organisms which quickly changed posture. If not present outmaneuvers they tried might have been fatal. Only design fits.


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