Vascular Gap Junctions in Hypertension

T he proteins that form the gap junctions (connexins) are widely expressed in organs that are central to the development of hypertension: endocrine organs, kidney, brain, heart, and vasculature (Figure Surprisingly, there is little information on the modification of connexins in hypertension in any of these organs except the vasculature, the subject of our review, but it would be hoped that this lack of information might spur research on these organs.