The prevalence of obesity related hypertension is rising at an alarming rate. Unfortunately, there is no specific therapy for this disease. In this context, we recently made the startling discovery that preserving nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability by increasing transport of NO substrate L-arginine prevented obesity-hypertension in mice! Importantly, we have patented a novel compound which increases L-arginine transport. This project involves testing the efficacy of this novel drug in preclinical animal models and further understanding mechanisms underlying obesity related hypertension for drug development.
The presence of fibrotic tissue in the heart contributes to the development of heart failure. We found that the anti-oxidant, N-acetylcysteine (NAC), can prevent the development of cardiac fibrosis in experimental heart failure. Representative images of (a) WT (control) mice receiving saline vehicle (b) MST-1 mice (a model of heart failure) receiving saline vehicle (c) WT (control) mice treated with NAC and (d) MST-1 mice treated with NAC. Fibrosis is represented by blue staining. VEH; vehicle.