Role of T-cell Activation in Salt-sensitive Hypertension.

The contributions of T lymphocytes to the pathogenesis of salt-sensitive hypertension has been well established. Under hypertensive stimuli, naïve T cells develop into different subsets, including Th1, Th2, Th17, Treg and cytotoxic CD8+ T cells, depending on the surrounding microenviroment in organs. Distinct subsets of T cells may play totally different roles in tissue damage and hypertension. The underlying mechanisms by which hypertensive stimuli activate naïve T cells involve many events and different organs, such as neoantigen presentation by dendritic cells, high salt concentration, the milieu of oxidative stress in the kidney and vasculature. Infiltrating and activated T subsets in injured organs, in turn, exert considerable impacts on tissue dysfunction, including sodium retention in the kidney, vascular stiffness and remodeling in vasculature. Therefore, a thorough knowledge of T cell actions in hypertension may provide novel insights for the development of new therapeutic strategies for patients with hypertension.