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Blood pressure regulation XI: overview and future research directions

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Abstract

While the importance of regulating arterial blood pressure within a ‘normal’ range is widely appreciated, the definition of ‘normal’ and the means by which humans and other species regulate blood pressure under various conditions remain hotly debated. The effects of diverse physiological, pathological and environmental challenges on blood pressure and the mechanisms that attempt to maintain it at an optimal level are reviewed and critically analyzed in a series of articles published in this themed issue of the European Journal of Applied Physiology. We summarize here the major points made in these reviews, with emphasis on unifying concepts of regulatory mechanisms and future directions for research.

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Abbreviations

MAP:

Mean arterial pressure

NTS:

Nucleus tractus solitarii

ROS:

Reactive oxygen species

NO:

Nitric oxide

Ang II:

Angiotensin II

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Acknowledgments

Research performed in the Chapleau laboratory related to the topics discussed was supported by funding provided by the NIH (P01 HL14388) and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (1 I01 BX001414) and in the Raven laboratory was supported by funding provided by the NIH (RO-1 grant #s HL045547 and R-21 Grant # HL106431).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Integrative Physiology and Anatomy, University of North Texas Health Science Center, 3500 Camp Bowie Boulevard, Fort Worth, TX, 76107, USA

    Peter B. Raven

  2. Departments of Internal Medicine and Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, University of Iowa and Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Iowa City, IA, USA

    Mark W. Chapleau

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  1. Peter B. Raven
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  2. Mark W. Chapleau
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Correspondence to Peter B. Raven.

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Communicated by Nigel A.S. Taylor.

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Raven, P.B., Chapleau, M.W. Blood pressure regulation XI: overview and future research directions. Eur J Appl Physiol 114, 579–586 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-014-2823-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-014-2823-z

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