Hydrogen sulfide, the same gas responsible for the smell of rotten eggs, also regulates blood pressure and blood vessel function in mice, researchers reported in the Oct. 24 issue of Science.

This discovery raises the possibility that pharmacologic enhancement of hydrogen sulfide could be an alternative approach to the treatment of hypertension in humans, said the journal Science.

Researchers from the United States and Canada show that hydrogen sulfide is produced by a particular enzyme, CSE, and that blocking this enzyme can bring on hypertension and the impaired response of blood vessels in mice.

They created mice with targeted deletions of the gene that codes for CSE, and observed dramatic reductions in hydrogen sulfide levels in the serum, heart, aorta, and other tissues. These mutant mice lacking CSE displayed pronounced hypertension beginning after about seven weeks of age, and also showed impaired responses to treatments that promote blood vessel relaxation.

The study's results indicate that hydrogen sulfide joins nitric oxide as a gas that regulates blood pressure, and could pave the way toward new treatments of vascular disorders.