# Investigation into Arterial Stiffness and Hypertension

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE HEALTH SCI CTR · 2021 · $559,327

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
In humans, large conduit arteries lose elasticity and thicken with aging and other pathological
conditions leading to central arterial stiffening and hypertension. The prevalence of arterial stiffness
and hypertension increases with age. Currently, there is no effective intervention for aging-associated
arterial stiffness. Aging is an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease. KDM6A is a recently-
discovered histone demethylase. Mutation of this gene causes severe defective embryogenesis. The
objective of the proposed research is to investigate if KDM6A in vascular smooth muscle cells
(VSMCs) plays a role in the regulation of arterial compliance and structure and further investigate if
KDM6A is involved in aging-associated arterial stiffness and hypertension. This objective will be
achieved by pursuing two coherent specific aims using a combination of several cutting-edge
approaches. The two specific aims are: (1) Determine if KDM6A in VSMCs plays a role in the
regulation of arterial compliance and structure. (2) Investigate if KDM6A in VSMCs is involved in the
aging-related arterial stiffness and hypertension. The proposed work is innovative and significant
because it utilizes state-of-the-art approaches to address aging-related arterial stiffness which affects a
large population but remains poorly understood. The results will reveal novel molecular mechanisms
that mediate the pathogenesis of aging-associated arterial remodeling and stiffness and hypertension.
Completion of this project may provide new insights into preventive and therapeutic strategies for
aging-associated arterial stiffness and hypertension.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10251335
- **Project number:** 5R01HL154147-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE HEALTH SCI CTR
- **Principal Investigator:** Zhongjie Sun
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $559,327
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-09-01 → 2024-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10251335

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10251335, Investigation into Arterial Stiffness and Hypertension (5R01HL154147-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10251335. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*