The pathophysiological role of aldosterone in cardiovascular disease.

醛固酮在心力衰竭的发病机制中起着关键作用。除了经典的肾上腺皮质醛固酮合成途径外，我们之前已经报道过，心脏也会产生醛固酮。在这项研究中，我们证明了仅存在于交感神经末梢的N型钙通道实际上调节肾上腺的醛固酮的产生。此外，我们发现心脏中的醛固酮的产生深受葡萄糖和/或钠条件的影响。这些结果进一步阐明了钠和葡萄糖状态对心血管疾病的病理生理意义的贡献，并将为未来新的治疗方法的发展奠定基础。

Alodosterone plays a key role in the pathogenesis of heart failure. In addition to the classical adrenocortical aldosterone synthesis pathway, we have previously reported that aldosterone is also produced in the heart. In this study, we demonstrated that N-type Calcium channel which has been indentified exclusively in sympathetic nerve terminals actually regulates aldosterone production in adrenal grands. Moreover, we found that aldosterone production in the heart is deeply affected by glucose and/or sodium condition. These results further elucidate the contribution of sodium and glucose condition to the pathophysiological significance in the cardiovascular diseases, and will lead to the development of novel therapeutic approach in the future.