Gut microbiota and arterial hypertension (a literature review)

Abstract

The aim of the work was to analyze and collate literature data on the role of the gut microbiota disorders in the pathogenesis of arterial hypertension and to determine the prospects for further research. Results. The article presents the results of studies that indicate the significant role of various components of the gut microbiota disorders in the development of arterial hypertension in experimental animals and humans. The accumulated data allow for consideration of the gut microiota as a part of a complex system involved in the regulation of blood pressure. Studies using fecal microbiota transplantation showed that the fecal microbiome transfer from hypertensive animals or patients with arterial hypertension to normotensive animals led to an increase in blood pressure in the latter. At the same time, transplantation of microbiota from normotensive animals to hypertensive resulted in a decrease in blood pressure in recipients. It was revealed that the leading dysbiotic factors that play the most significant role in the mechanisms of arterial hypertension development are the composition of the gut microbiota, the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio, the state of the tight junction proteins in the gut epithelium, the gut epithelial permeability to lipopolysaccharides, endotoxinemia, subclinical systemic inflammation, the levels of trimethylamine N-oxide and short-chain fatty acids production, as well as the relationship between the latter and specific Olfr and GPR receptors. Conclusions. The analyzed results of the studies indicate the involvement of gut microbiota disorders in the pathogenesis of arterial hypertension. However, the role of individual components of the gut microbiota in the mechanisms of blood pressure regulation and the development of hypertensive damage to target organs and complications remains poorly understood. Promising areas of the research are the development of informative methods for assessing the state of gut microbiota and fundamentally new approaches for reducing the risk of hypertension development and progression by the correction of occurring disorders.

Keywords

• gut microbiota
• hypertension
• firmicutes/bacteroidetes
• endotoxinemia
• trimethylamine n-oxide
• short chain fatty acids
• butyrate