Studies Suggest New Key to "Switching Off" Hypertension

Catestatin-mimic pharmacophore model. Pharmacophore centers correspond to hydrophobic residues Leu5, Phe7, and Phe14; and positively charged residues Arg8, Arg10, and Arg15. Green circles represent hydrophobes and aromatic/hydrophobic features, while dark-blue circles represent NCN+ groups/cations/H-bond donors. Ribbon diagram and three-dimensional residue structures belong to superimposed catestatin. Image courtesy of Valentina Kouznetsova, UC San Diego . A team of University of California, San Diego researchers has designed new compounds that mimic those naturally used by the body to regulate blood pressure. The most promising of them may literally be the key to controlling hypertension, switching off the signaling pathways that lead to the deadly condition.