The kidney adjusts K⁺ excretion to match intake in part by regulation of the activity of apical K⁺ secretory channels, including renal outer medullary K⁺ (ROMK)-like K⁺ channels, in the cortical collecting duct (CCD). ANG II inhibits ROMK channels via the ANG II type 1 receptor (AT1R) during dietary K⁺ restriction. Because AT1Rs and ANG II type 2 receptors (AT2Rs) generally function in an antag...

The physiological roles of ANG-(3-4) (Val-Tyr), a potent ANG II-derived peptide, remain largely unknown. The present study 1)investigates whether ANG-(3-4) modulates ouabain-resistant Na(+)-ATPase resident in proximal tubule cells and 2) verifies whether its possible action on pumping activity, considered the fine tuner of Na(+) reabsorption in this nephron segment, depends on blood pressure. A...

Angiotensin II (Ang II), known a potent vasoactive substance in the renin-angiotensin system in the brain, plays a critical role in systemic blood pressure control. However, increasing evidence indicated that the physiological role of Ang II go beyond its vasoactive effect. In the present study, we demonstrated that Ang II type-1 receptor (AT1R) and type-2 receptor (AT2R) were expressed in prim...

Physiological levels of estrogen appear to enhance angiotensin type 2 receptor- (AT2R-) mediated vasodilatation. However, the effects of supraphysiological levels of estrogen, analogous to those achieved with high-dose estrogen replacement therapy in postmenopausal women, remain unknown. Therefore, we pretreated ovariectomized rats with a relatively high dose of estrogen (0.5 mg/kg/week) for tw...

High doses of Ang II receptor (AT1R) blockers (ARBs) are renoprotective in diabetes. Underlying mechanisms remain unclear. We evaluated whether high/ultra-high doses of candesartan (ARB) up-regulate angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2)/Ang II type 2 receptor (AT2R)/Mas receptor [protective axis of the of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS)] in diabetic mice. Systolic blood pressure (SBP), albu...

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES Recent studies have reported an association of the angiotensin II type 2 receptor (AT2R) 3123Cytosine/Adenine (3123C/A) polymorphism with essential hypertension and cardiovascular diseases. The purpose of the study was to investigate whether the AT2R 3123C/A polymorphism affects blood pressure for free-living hypertensive men during a 5-month intervention period. SUBJECT...

The exact molecular mechanism that mediates hypoxia-induced pulmonary fibrosis needs to be further clarified. The aim of this study was to explore the effect and underlying mechanism of angiotensin II (Ang II) on collagen synthesis in hypoxic human lung fibroblast (HLF) cells. The HLF-1 cell line was used for in vitro studies. Angiotensinogen (AGT), angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE), angioten...

RATIONALE Compound 21 (C-21) is a highly selective nonpeptide angiotensin AT2 receptor (AT2R) agonist. OBJECTIVE To test the hypothesis that chronic AT2R activation with C-21 induces natriuresis via an action at the renal proximal tubule (RPT) and lowers blood pressure (BP) in experimental angiotensin II (Ang II)-dependent hypertension. METHODS AND RESULTS In rats, Ang II infusion increased...

INTRODUCTION Renin-angiotensin system (RAS) components exert diverse physiological functions and have been sub-grouped into deleterious angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE)/angiotensin II (Ang II)/angiotensin type 1 receptor (AT1R) and protective ACE2/angiotensin (1-7) (Ang-(1-7))/Mas receptor (MasR) axes. We have reported that chronic activation of angiotensin type 2 receptor (AT2R) alters RAS ...