# Role of chromatin conformation in BP Regulation

> **NIH NIH P01** · MEDICAL COLLEGE OF WISCONSIN · 2022 · $514,789

## Abstract

PROJECT 3 PROJECT SUMMARY
Hypertension remains the most important risk factor for a wide variety of cardiovascular diseases accounting
for approximately 54 percent of all strokes and 47 percent of all ischemic heart disease events globally.
Despite the fact that we know there is a significant genetic component that determines the level of blood
pressure (estimates of heritability for hypertension range from 30-70%) we are far from understanding the
myriad of genetic factors that account for blood pressure (BP) variation in humans. One of the most significant
challenges for understanding the vast majority of identified BP-associated genetic variations is dissecting the
mechanisms of those variants located in regions of DNA that do not encode proteins. In some cases, these
variations affect genes that are hundreds of thousands of base pairs away. We believe that some of these
genetic variants may affect how the chromosomes are folded in the cell and affect how blood-pressure related
genes interact in those folds to control blood pressure. In this project we will focus on testing the specific
hypothesis that chromatin conformation and interaction of BP-related genes with their proper regulatory
sequences is important in BP regulation. We will use animal models where we genetically disrupt the
chromosomes around genes which are known to play a role in blood pressure regulation. We will also use
advanced genomic profiling techniques to identify the locations where these interactions occur for tissues such
as blood vessels and segments of the nephron of the kidney that are related to BP regulation and use this data
to build an `epigenomic' map of chromatin structure, DNA binding proteins, and other features between rats
and humans that will allow us to identify and study similar mechanisms for other genes. This project is highly
collaborative with the other projects and cores in this Program Project Grant through the sharing of reagents
(cells and tissues), transfer of data, and the intellectual environment of the investigators and their laboratories.
.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10460347
- **Project number:** 5P01HL149620-03
- **Recipient organization:** MEDICAL COLLEGE OF WISCONSIN
- **Principal Investigator:** Aron M Geurts
- **Activity code:** P01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $514,789
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-08-15 → 2023-06-09

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10460347

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10460347, Role of chromatin conformation in BP Regulation (5P01HL149620-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10460347. Licensed CC0.

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