Tissue accumulation of circulating prorenin results in angiotensin generation, but could also, through binding to the recently cloned (pro)renin receptor, lead to angiotensin-independent effects, like p42/p44 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) activation and plasminogen-activator inhibitor (PAI)-1 release. Here we investigated whether prorenin exerts angiotensin-independent effects in neon...

BACKGROUND In pregnancy, the decidualised endometrium expresses high levels of prorenin and other genes of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) pathway. In this study we aimed to determined if the RAS was present in endometrial stromal cells and if decidualisation upregulated the expression of prorenin, the prorenin receptor ((P)RR) and associated RAS pathways. Immortalised human endometrial stro...

The discovery of a “(pro)renin receptor”1 has renewed the interest in prorenin, the inactive precursor of renin. Prorenin binding to this receptor allows prorenin to display enzymatic activity without the accompanying cleavage of the prosegment that normally occurs in the kidney when prorenin is converted to renin. The underlying concept is that binding to the (pro)renin receptor induces a conf...

The discovery of a “(pro)renin receptor”1 has renewed the interest in prorenin, the inactive precursor of renin. Prorenin binding to this receptor allows prorenin to display enzymatic activity without the accompanying cleavage of the prosegment that normally occurs in the kidney when prorenin is converted to renin. The underlying concept is that binding to the (pro)renin receptor induces a conf...

OBJECTIVE Mannose 6-phosphate receptors (M6PR) bind both renin and prorenin, and such binding contributes to renin/prorenin clearance but not to angiotensin generation. Here, we evaluated the kinetics of renin/prorenin binding to the recently discovered human (pro)renin receptor (h(P)RR), and the idea that such binding underlies tissue angiotensin generation. METHODS AND RESULTS Vascular smoo...

Despite suppression of the circulating renin-angiotensin system (RAS), high salt intake (HSI) aggravates kidney injury in chronic kidney disease. To elucidate the effect of HSI on intrarenal RAS, we investigated the levels of intrarenal prorenin, renin, (pro)renin receptor (PRR), receptor-mediated prorenin activation, and ANG II in chronic anti-thymocyte serum (ATS) nephritic rats on HSI. Kidne...

Three forms of recombinant protein complexes comprising the human prorenin (hPro) and (pro)renin receptor (hPRR) (hPRR/prorenin) were successfully expressed in the silkworm larvae using Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV) bacmids. They were localized in the fat body cells and formed a prorenin-bound hPRR complex. The expressed levels of hPro and hPRR were similar judging from Western blott...

UNLABELLED Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). (Pro)renin receptor (PRR) is activated in the kidney of CKD. The present study aimed to determine the role of indoxyl sulfate (IS), a uremic toxin, in PRR activation in rat aorta and human aortic smooth muscle cells (HASMCs). We examined the expression of PRR and renin/prorenin in rat a...

Recent reports indicated that tissue renin-angiotensin system (RAS) was upregulated and angiotensin II type 1 receptor signaling plays crucial roles in ocular inflammation and neovascularization; however, the precise mechanism for activating tissue RAS had not been defined until recently. (Pro)renin receptor, a recently identified molecule existing in the major organs but not in the circulation...

Cardiomyocytes bind, internalize, and activate recombinant human prorenin through mannose 6-phosphate/insulin-like growth factor II (M6P/IGFII) receptors. To investigate whether this also applies to native human prorenin, neonatal rat myocytes were incubated for 4 hours at 37 degrees C with various prorenin-containing human body fluids. Uptake and activation by M6P/IGFII receptors were observed...