Inflammatory Cytokines are Associated to Lower Glomerular Filtration Rate in Patients with Hypertensive Emergency

Introduction: Hypertension and kidney function are closely related. However, there are few studies on renal function during acute elevation of blood pressure (BP), denominated hypertensive crisis (HC). Objectives: To evaluate the relationship between renal function and inflammatory cytokines in HC, subdivided into hypertensive urgency (HUrg) and emergency (HEmerg). Methods: 74 normotensive subjects (NT), 74 controlled hypertensive (ContrHT), 50 patients with HUrg and 78 with HEmerg were studied. The glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was estimated, and cytokine levels were measured. Statistical analysis was performed using the Kruskal-Wallis or Mann-Whitney test and Spearman's correlation, with significant differences p-value <0.05. Results: The eGFR was significantly lower in HEmerg group compared to the NT, ContrHT and HUrg groups. All cytokines were significantly elevated in patients with HC compared to the control groups (NT and ContrHT). In addition, the cytokines interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6 and IL-10 were higher in the HEmerg group compared to the HUrg groups. There was a negative correlation between eGFR and the cytokines (IL-6, IL-8, IL-10 and TNF-α) in the HEmerg group. Conclusions: Elevated inflammatory cytokines are associated with reduced eGFR in individuals with HEmerg, indicating an involvement of the inflammatory process in the pathogenesis of acute elevations of BP.