Vascular mineralocorticoid receptor and blood pressure regulation

The mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) is a major regulator of blood pressure by modulating sodium balance and blood volume in the distal nephron. The discovery of MR expression in both endothelial and vascular smooth muscle cells a decade ago raised questions about its role in the vascular wall and its involvement in blood pressure regulation. In vitro and in vivo pharmacological studies have shown that vascular MR is involved in several vascular properties such as extracellular matrix remodeling, inflammation and vascular reactivity. In this review, we focus on recent advances obtained using transgenic model with cell-specific modulation of the expression MR in endothelium or smooth muscle and their impact on blood pressure.