UC San Diego

Leukocyte activation and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) have been associated with experimental forms of hypertension as a signature of inflammation. It is the objective of my thesis to investigate leukocyte activation and MMP activity in a cohort of patients newly diagnosed with hypertension that are not on any medication. My aims are to determine whether hypertensives exhibit signs of leukocyte activation on naïve neutrophils as determined by the formation of pseudopods and whether they exhibit elevated levels of MMPs in plasma. Pseudopod formation has been identified as a cause of increased hemodynamic resistance and is associated with other forms of activation. Exercise interventions have successfully reduced blood pressure as well as plasma levels of known inflammatory markers in hypertension. Subjects with normal or elevated blood pressure participated; hypertensives additionally partook in a 12-week exercise intervention. Naïve cells were stimulated by subject plasma, fixed, imaged, and analyzed. Significant correlations between pseudopod length and systolic (R = 0.415, p = 0.018), diastolic (R = 0.402, p = 0.023) blood pressure were identified. Pseudopod length post training was associated with a change in diastolic blood pressure. Matrix metalloproteinases, a family of endopeptidases involved in vascular remodeling, are role players in a number of cardiovascular diseases known as risk factors in hypertension. Subjects performed acute exercise tasks before and after a lifestyle intervention. Acute exercise increased plasma levels of MMP-8 and -9 (p < 0.001). Training did not alter MMP-levels, or the response to acute exercise. Correlations between MMPs and markers of inflammation were found