# Microvascular and sensory nerve function in non-Hispanic Blacks and Whites

> **NIH NIH R01** · GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $379,800

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
 The broad, long-term objective of this application is to improve health outcomes and reduce health
disparities in the non-Hispanic Black (NHB) population in the United States. Rates of chronic disease, such as
hypertension (HT) and cardiovascular disease, are higher in NHB compared to non-Hispanic Whites (NHW).
One of the consequences of chronic disease is reduced endothelial-dependent vasodilation and it is
hypothesized that this partially contributes to the increased rates of chronic disease in NHB. Several studies
suggest NO-dependent vasodilation is reduced in conduit (large) arteries in healthy and HT NHB compared to
NHW. What is currently less well-known is how prehypertension (PreHT) affects microvascular endothelial-
dependent vasodilation. In many organs, there is an interaction between the microvasculature and peripheral
nerves, such as sensory nerves. Studies in patient groups and in NHB, rarely, if ever, investigate the
interaction between the microvasculature and sensory nerves so it is unclear if sensory nerve function is
reduced in PreHT or in NHB compared to NHW. Human skin presents a unique opportunity to investigate the
interaction between the microvasculature and sensory nerves using minimally-invasive techniques. Heating
small areas of skin is known to increase skin blood flow and the increase is regulated by both endothelial-
dependent mechanisms and sensory nerve-mediated mechanisms. The cutaneous circulation is also an easily
accessible microvascular bed and dysfunction in the skin is correlated with less accessible regions, such as
the kidney and heart. Two molecules, nitric oxide (NO) and endothelin-1 (ET-1), are both important regulators
of vascular function but it is unknown how these two molecules contribute to microvascular-sensory nerve
interactions in NT or PreHT NHB vs. NHW. We therefore propose two specific aims: 1) determine the
contribution of NO to cutaneous microvascular vasodilation in NT and PreHT NHB and NHW, and 2) determine
the contribution of ET-1 to cutaneous microvascular vasodilation in NT and PreHT NHB and NHW. We
anticipate the data from the proposed studies will improve our ability to treat, and, importantly, prevent, chronic
disease in NHB. This, in turn, will help reduce health disparities in the NHB population.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10132376
- **Project number:** 5R01HL141205-04
- **Recipient organization:** GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Brett Wong
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $379,800
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-04-01 → 2023-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10132376

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10132376, Microvascular and sensory nerve function in non-Hispanic Blacks and Whites (5R01HL141205-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10132376. Licensed CC0.

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