Improving awareness of women with hypertension: ROAR (Rural, Obese, At Risk)

Hypertension is the world’s largest contributing factor to disease and mortality. Diets high in saturated fat are increasingly linked to the development of hypertension, although the patho-physiological mechanisms responsible for the development of hypertension remain poorly understood. This proposal examines a novel molecular mechanism by which a chronic high saturated fat diet (HFD) activates the immune system to promote increases in adiposity and blood pressure (BP). Moreover, although young women are typically protected from hypertension relative to age-matched men, epidemiological studies suggest that the cardiovascular protection typically associated with young women is compromised by chronic consumption of a diet high in saturated fat. Our study will examine the novel central hypothesis that a chronic HFD causes a greater increase in BP in females via sex-specific activation and recruitment of immune cells. Studies will further test the hypothesis that greater NLRP3 activation in females drives enhanced immune cell activation with a chronic HFD. Adipose tissue is a critical intermediary between immune cell activation and hypertension and the NLRP3 inflammasome contributes to adipose tissue inflammation.