Fifty years ago, investigators identified renin inhibition as the preferred pharmacologic approach to blockade of the renin-angiotensin system. Renin is a monospecific enzyme that catalyzes the rate-limiting step in the synthesis of angiotensin II. Amplified enzymatic activity and additional physiological effects occur when renin and pro-renin bind to the (pro)renin receptor. Until very recentl...

Blockade of angiotensin II AT1 receptors combined with angiotensin I-converting enzyme inhibition might amplify the potency of the renin-angiotensin system blockade. We studied whether chronic and simultaneous administration of enalapril and losartan would result in additive or synergistic effects in the (mREN-2)27 transgenic rat (TGR), the investigated targets being blood pressure, cardiac hyp...

Evidence that renin system blockade is useful in many patients with hypertension is overwhelming. Two recent lines of investigation have suggested that more complete blockade leads to improved clinical outcomes. One line of investigation involves the use of a combination of an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor with an angiotensin-receptor blocker. The second line of investigation involves...

Aliskiren, a direct renin inhibitor, blocks the first step of the renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system (RAAS), thereby reducing plasma renin activity and the circulating levels of angiotensin I, angiotensin II, and aldosterone. Extensive RAAS blockade can be achieved through the administration of aliskiren; however, renin blockade is a double-edged sword because the renin/prorenin receptor-asso...

This paper reviews the molecular biology of the renin-angiotensin system. The renin gene structure is analyzed in detail, including an examination of the putative regulatory regions. The combined action of these regulatory sequences would result in the complex, tissue-specific expression and regulation observed in vivo. The expression of the tissue renin-angiotensin systems, which may have impo...

Cancer is the leading cause of death worldwide (World Health Organization). Therapeutic strategies usually involve a combination of surgical ablation, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Apart from conventional chemotherapy, targeting of the tumour vasculature by vascular disrupting agents or inhibitors of angiogenesis has also been used. Several antihypertensive agents have been used to reduce the ...

1. Serial changes in plasma renin activity and plasma angiotensin levels were followed in rats during acute renal failure induced by mercuric chloride or glycerol. 2. During mercuric chloride-induced acute renal failure there were transitory large increases in plasma renin and angiotensin. In contrast, rats with acute renal failure produced by glycerol had a reduction in plasma renin and angiot...

INTRODUCTION Unstable angina is associated with an acute systemic inflammatory reaction and circulating T lymphocytes are activated. We investigated whether in unstable angina with marked immune system activation a selective upregulation of the circulating T-cell renin-angiotensin system, modulated by angiotensin II, could occur. METHODS We studied 13 unstable angina patients, 10 patients wit...

Mechanisms controlling cardiac growth are under intense investigation. Among these, the renin-angiotensin system has received great interest. In the current study, we tested the hypothesis that the renin-angiotensin system was not an obligate factor in cardiac hypertrophy. We examined the left ventricular hypertrophic response to a pressure overload in mice devoid of the AT1A receptor, the puta...

Background: Hypertension during pregnancy period along with the presence of protein in the urine, after the 20th weeks of gestation is called preeclampsia (PE). About five percent of all pregnancies are manifested with PE and its exact etiology has still remained unknown. The renin-angiotensin system (RAS) has an important role in the regulation of blood pressure during pregnancy and so pathoph...