Epigenetic mechanisms differentially regulate blood pressure and renal dysfunction in male and female Npr1 haplotype mice

Abstract We determined the epigenetic mechanisms regulating mean arterial pressure (MAP) and renal dysfunction in guanylyl cyclase/natriuretic peptide receptor‐A (GC‐A/NPRA) gene‐targeted mice. The Npr1 (encoding NPRA) gene‐targeted mice were treated with class 1 specific histone deacetylase inhibitor (HDACi) mocetinostat (MGCD) to determine the epigenetic changes in a sex‐specific manner. Adult male and female Npr1 haplotype (1‐copy; Npr1 +/− ), wild‐type (2‐copy; Npr1 +/+ ), and gene‐duplicated heterozygous (3‐copy; Npr1 ++/+ ) mice were intraperitoneally injected with MGCD (2 mg/kg) for 14 days. BP, renal function, histopathology, and epigenetic changes were measured. One‐copy male mice showed significantly increased MAP, renal dysfunction, and fibrosis than 2‐copy and 3‐copy mice. Furthermore, HDAC1/2, collagen1alpha‐2 (Col1α‐2), and alpha smooth muscle actin (α‐SMA) were significantly increased in 1‐copy mice compared with 2‐copy controls. The expression of antifibrotic microRNA‐133a was attenuated in 1‐copy mice but to a greater extent in males than females. NF‐κB was localized at significantly lower levels in cytoplasm than in the nucleus with stronger DNA binding activity in 1‐copy mice. MGCD significantly lowered BP, improved creatinine clearance, and repaired renal histopathology. The inhibition of class I HDACs led to a sex‐dependent distinctive stimulation of acetylated positive histone marks and inhibition of methylated repressive histone marks in Npr1 1‐copy mice; however, it epigenetically lowered MAP, repaired renal fibrosis, and proteinuria and suppressed NF‐kB differentially in males versus females. Our results suggest a role for epigenetic targets affecting hypertension and renal dysfunction in a sex‐specific manner.