Renin is the enzyme which is the rate-limiting step in the formation of the hormone angiotensin II. Therefore, the regulation of renin secretion is critical in understanding the control of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system and its many biological and pathological actions. Renin is synthesized, stored in, and released from the juxtaglomerular (JG) cells of the kidney. While renin secretio...

Renin is an enzyme involved in the stepwise generation of angiotensin II. Juxtaglomerular cells are the main source of plasma renin, but renin activity has been detected in other cell types. In the present study we evaluated the presence of renin mRNA in adult male Wistar rat and mouse (C-57 Black/6) mesangial cells (MC) and their ability to process, store and release both the active and inacti...

The aim of the present study was to investigate the endothelial influence on renin secretion of isolated juxtaglomerular cells. Specifically the role of nitric oxide (NO) and of endothelin was studied. Coculture of primary cultures of juxtaglomerular cells with aortic and microvascular endothelial cells decreased renin secretion. Inhibition of NO formation by absence of l-arginine or presence o...

Understanding the transcriptional mechanisms of renin expression is key to understanding the regulation of the renin-angiotensin system. We previously identified the nuclear receptors RAR/RXR and Nr2f6 (EAR2) as positive and negative transcriptional regulators of renin expression, respectively (Liu X, Huang X, Sigmund CD. Circ Res 92: 1033-1040, 2003). Both mediate their effects through a hormo...

Excretion of renin into urine was studied using specific assay methods in normal subjects and hospital patients. Urinary renin output and renal clearance of renin varied widely among normal subjects but remained similar over months in any one subject. Renin clearance was significantly less in normal males (range 12 to 893 ml/24 hours) than females (79 to 3,149 ml/24 hours), but no reason for th...

RENIN IS THE RATE-LIMITING enzyme in the renin-angiotensin system that is responsible for the control of blood pressure and fluid homeostasis. In the adult mammalian kidney, renin is synthesized, stored, and released by the juxtaglomerular (JG) cells, which are confined to the vascular wall of the afferent arteriole at the entrance of the glomerulus. To reach its final differentiated state, a r...

In the course of studies designed to develop a radioimmunoassay system for the detection of renin, we have identified in human plasma a potent inhibitor that interferes with the renin-antirenin reaction. Utilizing gel filtration, this renin-antirenin inhibitory activity was found to have the same molecular size as renin substrate. However, it could be separated from renin substrate by ion-excha...

1. A large dose of oestrogen elevated the blood pressure in male Westar rats. 2. Plasma renin substrate and renin activity increased significantly but plasma renin concentration was unchanged. 3. The increase in blood pressure induced by oestrogen was significantly reduced by salt loading, plasma renin concentration was suppressed and the increase in plasma renin activity was reduced. 4. The in...

To clarify the role of the renin-angiotensin system in coarctation hypertension, 2-year-old inbred dogs with chronic neonatally induced thoracic aortic coarctation were subjected to 6 days of rigorous salt restriction. The following parameters were then measured: glomerular filtration rate, renal plasma flow, plasma renin activity, plasma renin concentration, renin reactivity, and renin substra...

The aim of this work was to investigate, in an experimental model of diabetes mellitus, the levels of renin activity in vascular and adrenal tissues and their relationship to several circulating renin-angiotensin system components. Rats with chronic (12 weeks) streptozocin-induced diabetes showed a significant decrease in plasma renin activity (PRA), plasma renin concentration, and plasma aldos...