IL6 and Hypertension: Furthermore, our discovery analysis identified several proteins associated with both hypertension and SBP that are established biomarkers for hypertension, such as IL-6 (interleukin-6), LOX-1 (lectin-like oxidized low-density lipoprotein receptor 1), NT-proBNP, TNF-α (tumor necrosis factor-alpha), and VEGF-A (vascular endothelial growth factor A).22,23 Additionally, NT-proBNP was successfully validated for its associations with both hypertension and SBP in our validation analysis.