Models Of Hypertension -- Congenic/Consomic Models of Hypertension -- Mouse Knockout Models of Hypertension -- Production of Transgenic Models in Hypertension -- Measuring Blood Pressure in Small Laboratory Animals -- Assessment Of Free Radicals In Endothelial Dysfunction -- Analysis of Superoxide Anion Production in Tissue -- Measurement of Vascular Reactive Oxygen Species Production by Chemiluminescence -- A Guide to Wire Myography -- Nucleic Acid Techniques -- Selection of Candidate Genes in Hypertension -- Genome-Wide Scanning With SSLPs in the Rat -- Extraction of RNA From Cells and Tissue -- Single-Strand Conformational Polymorphism Analysis -- Single-Nucleotide Polymorphism Genotyping for Disease Association Studies -- Denaturing High-Performance Liquid Chromatography Using the WAVE DNA Fragment Analysis System -- TaqMan Real-Time PCR Quantification Conventional and Modified Methods -- Generation of High-Sensitivity Antisense cDNA Probes by Asymmetric PCR -- New Advances in Microarrays Finding the Genes Causally Involved in Disease -- Pharmacogenetics and Pharmacogenomics -- Proteins And Proteomics -- Determination of the Endogenous Nitric Oxide Synthase Inhibitor Asymmetric Dimethylarginine in Biological Samples by HPLC -- Proteomic Approaches in the Analysis of Hypertension -- Gene Transfer -- Gene Transfer in Endothelial Dysfunction and Hypertension -- Nonviral Gene Delivery Methods in Cardiovascular Diseases -- Construction and Characterization of Helper-Dependent Adenoviral Vectors for Sustained In Vivo Gene Therapy -- Adenovirus-Mediated Gene Transfer In Vivo An Approach to Reduce Oxidative Stress -- Gene Therapy for Hypertension -- Modulation of Gene Expression by RNAi -- In Vivo Biopanning -- Stem Cells -- Cardiomyocytes Derived From Embryonic Stem Cells -- Bioinformatics -- In Silico and Wet-Bench Identification of Nuclear Matrix Attachment Regions -- Biomedical Informatics Methods in Pharmacogenomics.

Our understanding of the pathogenesis of hypertension and the development of new therapies for its management have each proven to be directly dependent on the availability and application of novel molecular biological methodologies. In Hypertension: Methods and Protocols, a panel of recognized experts from key institutions around the world describes in step-by-step detail many new and essential molecular techniques for cardiovascular hypertension research. The methods presented range widely from producing congenic, consomic, transgenic, and knockout models of hypertension to the gene transfer of specific genetic material using adenoviral and nonviral (polymers, liposomes, and antisense agents) vectors. Additional techniques described include single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping, RNA interference, microarray analysis, pharmacogenetics, and pharmacogenomics for the genetic dissection of hypertension, as well as a practical method for deriving cardiomyocytes from embryonic stem cells that would serve as replacement cells for those damaged by hypertension or heart attack. A review of bioinformatic resources for pharmacogenomics describes the application of in silico strategies to identify nuclear matrix attachment regions. The protocols follow the successful Methods in Molecular Medicine™ series format, each offering step-by-step laboratory instructions, an introduction outlining the principle behind the technique, lists of the necessary equipment and reagents, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. State-of-the-art and highly practical, Hypertension: Methods and Protocols offers both novice and experienced hypertension researchers an indispensable collection of readily reproducible techniques for successful research, work that has already dramatically improved the outlook for hypertensive patients, and promises much future success.