Fat cells related to hypertension

Fat cells produce factors that directly stimulate the adrenal gland to release the hormone aldosterone. As aldosterone regulates blood pressure, these factors may at least partly explain the link between obesity and high blood pressure.Researchers from the German Diabetes Centre in Dusseldorf, first incubated white fat tissue in a culture medium, then removed the fat tissue and exposed adrenal cells to the remaining fat cell-conditioned medium. They reported that aldosterone secretion by the adrenal cells increased more than sevenfold over a 24 hour period. Other hormones produced by the cells also increased: cortisol was nearly tripled, and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) levels increased 1.5-fold. The factors responsible for these effects remain something of a puzzle. The team was able to rule out five possible compounds, but figured out two new factors that appeared to be responsible for more than 90 percent of the stimulatory effect.
The researchers theorised that levels of the adrenal-stimulating factors produced by fat cells would decline, along with the amount of fat stored in the cells, if someone lost weight. Thus, the cells would provoke less aldosterone production and blood pressure would go down. They are now in the process of further characterising the new factors identified.

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