**6. Conclusions**

The root cause of hypertension is still to be elucidated, but there is little doubt that epigenomic changes in the vessels make a contribution to the disease. As illustrated in Figure 1, epigenetic regulation participates in the development of hypertension through a comprehensive mechanism which targets different levels of complexity including the RAAS system, the vascular wall and specific cell types within the vessels. Epigenetic regulation may also affect the circulating blood cells that interact with vessels. While regulators of the RAAS system are a current key focal point, more focus should be given to the components of blood vessels themselves and their regulation.

**Figure 1.** The illustration of the regulation DNA methylation and histone modification in hypertension.

**Acknowledgments:** This work is supported by NIH grants HL115195-01 (H.Q.), HL137962 (H.Q.) and National natural Science Foundation of China grant 31330029 (N.D.). Besides, we thank Nianguo Dong for his contribution of consultant and support on this paper.

**Author Contributions:** Shaunrick Stoll, Charles Wang and Hongyu Qiu have written and revised the manuscript and have approved the final version of the manuscript.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest.
