Endothelial Piezo1 Hyperactivity Drives Neurovascular Dysfunction in Hypertension.

Hypertension markedly elevates cerebral endothelial Piezo1 activity in two mouse models, and endothelial Piezo1 deletion protects against impaired vasomotion and functional hyperemia.

• Why it matters: Elevated arterial pressure is linked to neurovascular dysfunction and cognitive decline, but the mechanistic bridge from pressure to impaired cerebral blood flow is unclear.
• What they did: The study used patch-clamp electrophysiology to measure endothelial Piezo1 activity in BPH/2J and angiotensin II–infused C57BL/6J mice, with endothelial-specific Piezo1 deletion, laser speckle contrast imaging, super-resolution nanoscopy, and cognition testing.
• The result: Hypertension increased Piezo1 clustering and coupling/open probability, and Piezo1 hyperactivity was PKC-dependent; PKC inhibition normalized Piezo1 activity, restored cerebral blood flow responses, and rescued cognitive performance.

AI summary of the abstract · may contain errors · not medical advice · read the paper.