The Role of the Immune System in the Pathophysiology of Essential Hypertension

Abstract

Hypertension (HTN) is a critical worldwide health issue and an imperative risk factor for the development of cardiovascular disease and kidney disease. There are many crevices in our knowledge about the pathophysiology of HTN. The mechanisms intervening in HTN are complex. In recent years, a large scale of evidence supports the role of various components of the innate and adaptive immune systems (such as immune cells subsets, cytokines, complement system, and toll-like receptors) as contributors to HTN and developed end-organ damage. The endpoint of all these pathways is to develop an inflammatory condition that leads to HTN and damage to the end organ. Despite the availability of different antihypertensive drugs, there are still many patients with persistent or uncontrolled HTN. Therefore, understanding these immune pathways and their effects on patients with resistant hypertension. In addition, finding the detailed immunopathogenesis may help us find more targeted therapeutic approaches and improve cardiovascular and renal function in this high-risk untreated population. This review article summarizes different conducted studies on immunity and HTN that indicate the basic role of the immune system in causing HTN.