Ninth Hypertension Research Award for authors of outstanding papers in Hypertension Research

The Japanese Society of Hypertension (JSH) has announced the winners of the 9th Hypertension Research Award at the 41st Annual Scientific Meeting held on 14–16 September 2018 in Asahikawa, Hokkaido, Japan. This award was established in 2010 to recognize significant contributions of researchers to the advancement of researches in hypertension and related studies. Among the first or main authors of the articles published in Hypertension Research, official journal of JSH, from April 2017 (Vol. 40, No. 4) to March 2018 (Vol. 41, No. 3) the journal’s editorial committee members selected the following winners.

Hypertension Research Award of Excellence

Dr. Mayuko Osada-Oka, Food Hygiene and Environmental Health Division of Applied Life Science, Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Kyoto Prefectural University, Kyoto, Japan.

For contribution of ‘Macrophage-derived exosomes induce inflammatory factors in endothelial cells under hypertensive conditions.’ Vol. 40, No. 4, pp 353–60.

https://www.nature.com/articles/hr2016163

This animal study demonstrated that certain exosomes derived from macrophages are increased in the serum of hypertensive rats induced by angiotensin II infusion. These exosomes elicit proinflammatory factors such as ICAM-1 and PAI-1 in endothelial cells, which are supposed to participate in the development of hypertensive vascular injury.

Hypertension Research Award

Dr. Yuki Okuyama, Department of Medical Science and Cardiorenal Medicine, Yokohama City University Graduate School of Medicine, Yokohama, Japan.

For contribution of ‘The effects of anti-hypertensive drugs and the mechanism of hypertension in vascular smooth-muscle cell-specific ATP2B1 knockout mice.’ Vol. 41, No. 2, pp 80–7. Open access article.

https://www.nature.com/articles/hr201792

In this study, the authors used vascular smooth-muscle cell-specific ATPB1 knockout mice that exhibited hypertension with increased intracellular calcium concentration. ATPB1 encodes membrane calcium ATPase. In this animal model, the expression of L-type calcium channel was upregulated and mice were sensitive to the hypotensive effect of dihydropyridine calcium-channel blocker as compared with other classes of antihypertensive drugs.

Hypertension Research Award

Dr. Jun Hata, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.

For contribution of ‘White-coat and masked hypertension are associated with albuminuria in a general population: the Hisayama Study.’ Vol. 40, No. 11, pp 937–43.

https://www.nature.com/articles/hr201774

This is a long-time-continuing cross-sectional analysis of the Hisayama Study cohort regarding albuminuria and eGFR in subjects with normotension, white-coat hypertension, masked hypertension and sustained hypertension. Urinary albumin excretion was increased even in subjects with white-coat hypertension.