The Chemoattraction of Immune Cells into the Hypothalamic Paraventricular Nucleus Elicits Sympathetically‐Mediated Blood Pressure Elevations in Hypertension

Abstract

Chemokine C‐C motif ligand 2 (CCL2) is a chemotactic cytokine, known for its ability to recruit and activate immune cells. Recently, immune cells have been shown to be active within the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN) of a rodent model of hypertension. Interestingly, the chemokine, CCL2, was increased by 3‐fold in the PVN in many experimental models of hypertension, and the plasma levels of CCL2 appear to correlate with increased blood pressure in hypertensive patients. However, the underlying neural and molecular mechanisms leading to the development of hypertension still remain unknown. Thus, we hypothesised that CCL2 elicits sympathetically mediated blood pressure (BP) e..