Hypertension is a leading cause of death and disability, causing over 50% of cardiovascular disease deaths. The incidence of hypertension has increased in heart failure cases from 54% to 76% in the 21st century. Hypertensive heart disease (HHD) contributes to heart failure through a complex process that leads to left ventricular dysfunction. Despite growing evidence of HHDs impact, current hypertension guidelines lack specific strategies for HHD.

The NeuroImmunMetHF Consortium aims to provide a novel approach to prevent and treat Hypertensive Heart Disease (HHD) by considering the role of the neural and immune systems in shaping the cardiac metabolic environment. We propose to: identifying the peripheral neuroimmune circuits of the brain-spleen-heart axis converging on the celiac plexus that contribute to HHD in pre-clinical murine models; examining the effects of lifestyle factors on the neural drive and immunometabolic pathways involved in HHD; providing proof-of-concept evidence of the effects of exercise training and bioelectronic interventions disrupting neuroimmune reflexes might impact cardiac remodeling in minipigs; investigate the relevance to human pathology to provide a clinical translation of the findings.

Our project will elucidate how the neuroimmune pathways influence cardiac metabolic homeostasis to add important new mechanistic insights and implement innovative tools for tailored immunotherapies based on bioelectronic medicine