Novel avenues to control blood pressure: targeting the renal lymphatic system

Hypertension is associated with the activation of the immune and lymphatic systems as well as lymphangiogenesis. The changes in the lymphatic system are considered an adap-tive response to mitigate the deleterious effects of immune and inflammatory cells on the cardiovascular system. In the article recently published in Clinical Science by Goodlett and collaborators, evidence is shown that inducing renal lymphangiogenesis after the establish-ment of hypertension in mice is an effective maneuver to reduce systemic arterial blood pressure. In this commentary, we will briefly review what is known about the relationship between the activation of the immune and lymphatic systems, and the resulting effects on systemic blood pressure, summarize the findings published by Goodlett and collaborators, and discuss the impact of their findings on the field.

Automated summary

Hypertension is linked to immune and lymphatic system activation as well as lymphangiogenesis. Renal lymphangiogenesis has been shown to effectively reduce systemic arterial blood pressure in hypertensive mice. This article provides a review of the relationship between immune and lymphatic system activation and its impact on systemic blood pressure, summarizes the findings of Goodlett and collaborators, and discusses the implications of their findings.