Renal metabolism and hypertension.

Hypertension is a leading risk factor for disease burden worldwide. The kidneys, which have a high specific metabolic rate, play an essential role in the long-term regulation of arterial blood pressure. In this review, we discuss the emerging role of renal metabolism in the development of hypertension. Renal energy and substrate metabolism is characterized by several important and, in some cases, unique features. Recent advances suggest that alterations of renal metabolism may result from genetic abnormalities or serve initially as a physiological response to environmental stressors to support tubular transport, which may ultimately affect regulatory pathways and lead to unfavorable cellular and pathophysiological consequences that contribute to the development of hypertension. Hypertension is one of the most important risk factors for cardiovascular disease. The kidneys, which have a very high metabolic rate, play a fundamental role in blood pressure regulation. In this review, the authors discuss recent studies on the role of renal metabolism in the development of hypertension.