[Synthesis of renin and angiotensin-converting enzyme in human heart].
The renin-angiotensin system (RAS) is known as a system which constricts vessels and enhances renal retention of sodium and water to raise the blood pressure. Recent studies have shown that the RAS is related to pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases: 1) angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor has been known to regress the cardiac hypertrophy, 2) high renin activity before treatment of hypertension has been reported to be one of the risk factors of myocardial infarction, 3) and there was a study that the gene expression of ACE was related to the susceptibility to myocardial infarction. Recently, in addition to the circulating RAS, the existence of the tissue RAS in various organs has been demonstrated. However, the existence of the tissue RAS in the human heart and its pathophysiological significance have not been fully investigated. To confirm the existence of the tissue RAS in the human heart, and clarify its pathophysiological role, we focused on the important elements of the system, renin and ACE, and studied the presence of renin and ACE mRNAs and their proteins in the human autopsied hearts. Samples were taken from the organs from 15 cases without heart disease. Renin mRNA was examined using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. In all of 15 cases, renin mRNA was detected in the right atrium, but not in the left ventricle. Renin protein was found both in the right atrium and the left ventricle by Western blot. In addition to renin, ACE mRNA was also detected both in the right atrium and left ventricle.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Hokkaido University School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan.
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001483:Base Sequence; D015139:Blotting, Southern; D015153:Blotting, Western; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009206:Myocardium / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D007703:Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000032:analysis; D012083:Renin / Q000096:biosynthesis*
D012333:RNA, Messenger; D007703:Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A; D012083:Renin