OSTEOPONTIN EXPRESSION, TUBULOINTERSTITIAL DISEASE, AND ESSENTIAL-HYPERTENSION

A role has recently been proposed for the tubulointerstitium in the pa thogenesis of salt-dependent essential hypertension. In this study, bi opsies from patients with essential hypertension with either minimal ( ''benign'') or severe (''decompensated'') tubulointertitial injury wer e analyzed for the expression of osteopontin, a protein known to modul ate tubulointerstitial damage and nitric oxide production. In biopsies from patients with decompensated arteriolosclerosis, osteopontin mRNA and protein were increased in tubules in association with expression of alpha-smooth muscle actin by interstitial fibroblasts and increased type IV collagen deposition. The relevance of these findings to the p athogenesis of essential hypertension is discussed. Am J Hypertens 199 8;11:954-961 (C) 1998 American Journal of Hypertension, Ltd.