The renin-angiotensin paradigm. Practical therapeutical consequences of basic research.
The challenge in hypertension research is the elucidation of the primary, genetic causes of elevated blood pressure. The basic information on how a cell, an organ, and the whole body function resides within the chromosomes, the individual genes and their DNA sequence. The problem with understanding primary (genetic) hypertension in man is that several genes are involved in the cardiovascular control mechanisms and that the genetics are complex. In addition, environmental factors which act over long time-spans confound the genotype/phenotype relationship individually, within a family, and regionally. This shows that while monogenetic, dominant traits and diseases such as some lipid disorders may be studied with relative ease, polygenetic diseases like primary hypertension remain puzzles, which make well defined experimental models as well as new strategies in the genetics of human primary hypertension mandatory. The availability of new molecular biological techniques enables us to conduct genetic linkage studies in humans and in animal models on a more extensive basis. Using gene technology it is possible to introduce new, additional genes in normotensive and hypertensive animals. It is also possible, in the mouse, to delete or mutate specific genes, and similar technology is being developed for use in the rat. This marks the important transition from classic breeding, the experiments of nature, to "high tech" genetics with previously impossible and unparalleled opportunities and the use of this in formation and methodology for clinical medicine.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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Max Delbrück Centre for Molecular Medicine (MDC), Berlin-Buch, (Fed. Rep. of Germany).
D000806:Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D012084:Renin-Angiotensin System / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*
D000806:Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors