P2Y₂and G_q /G₁₁ control blood pressure by mediating endothelial mechanotransduction

Elevated blood pressure is a key risk factor for developing cardiovascular diseases. Blood pressure is largely determined by vasodilatory mediators, such as nitric oxide (NO), that are released from the endothelium in response to fluid shear stress exerted by the flowing blood. Previous work has identified several mechanotransduction signaling processes that are involved in fluid shear stress-induced endothelial effects, but how fluid shear stress initiates the response is poorly understood. Here, we evaluated human and bovine endothelial cells and found that the purinergic receptor P2Y₂ and the G proteins G_q /G₁₁ mediate fluid shear stress-induced endothelial responses, including [Ca²⁺]i transients, activation of the endothelial NO synthase (eNOS), phosphorylation of PECAM-1 and VEGFR-2, as well as activation of SRC and AKT. In response to fluid shear stress, endothelial cells released ATP, which activates the purinergic P2Y₂ receptor. Mice with induced endothelium-specific P2Y₂ or G_q/G₁₁ deficiency lacked flow-induced vasodilation and developed hypertension that was accompanied by reduced eNOS activation. Together, our data identify P2Y₂ and G_q /G₁₁ as a critical endothelial mechanosignaling pathway that is upstream of previously described mechanotransduction processes and demonstrate that P2Y₂ and G_q /G₁₁ are required for basal endothelial NO formation, vascular tone, and blood pressure.