Many Membrane Abnormalities in Hypertension Result from one Primary Defect

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Abstract
Ever since experimental tools have been available to study cellular mechanisms responsible for hypertension, special attention has been given to the possible role of an abnormality of the cell membrane in this process. This focus evolved not only because all regulatory processes of the cell must be mediated through a cell membrane function, but also because specific clues suggested that the cell membrane might be at fault. Both experimental and clinical hypertension were shown to be influenced by salt intake, implying that some subjects had a defect in regulating salt metabolism, perhaps a problem of cell membrane permeability to sodium or chloride. This idea was supported by the observation that mineralocorticoid excess, which was known to alter membrane permeability to sodium, caused hypertension.