A cross-organ single-cell analysis of hypertension.
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
8-13-2026
Original Citation
Qiu Q,
Liu Y,
Xue H,
Pandey R,
Liu J,
He L,
Liu P,
Therani B,
Kumar V,
Huang J,
Sadri S,
Guenther M,
Usa K,
Grzybowski M,
Vanden Avond M,
Greene A,
Cowley A,
Rao S,
Geurts A,
Liang M.
A cross-organ single-cell analysis of hypertension. Science. 2026 Aug 13;393(6812):eaea6187.
Keywords
JMG, Animals, Humans, Male, Mice, Rats, Angiotensin II, Blood Pressure, Hypertension, Muscle, Smooth, Vascular, Rats, Inbred Dahl, Rats, Inbred SHR, Single-Cell Gene Expression Analysis, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Kidney Tubules, Organ Specificity
JAX Source
Science. 2026 Aug 13;393(6812):eaea6187.
ISSN
1095-9203
PMID
42594205
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aea6187
Abstract
Hypertension is a leading cause of disease burden and mortality. Here, we present a single-cell analysis of hypertension and end-organ damage across six organs and tissues in angiotensin II-treated mice, Dahl salt-sensitive rats, and spontaneously hypertensive rats. We identified gene programs associated with blood pressure and renal injury, including a conserved vascular smooth muscle cell program and cross-segment renal tubular programs, along with tissue-specialized endothelial adaptations and coordinated changes across cell types in select organs. Integration with human genomic data revealed model-specific and shared cell type-trait links. We prioritized a noncoding variant (rs28451064) and used genome editing to demonstrate its in vivo effect on blood pressure and allele-specific regulation of local genes. Our study provides a multimodel, cross-organ cellular resource for hypertension research.