Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2: implications for blood pressure and kidney disease.
OBJECTIVE
Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE 2), the main product of which is Ang 1-7, which binds to its receptor, Mas, is an important member of the renin-angiotensin system.


RESULTS
A substantial body of research indicates that ACE2 is cardioprotective and renoprotective. ACE2 participates in a pathway that is counterregulatory to the effects of angiotensin II (Ang II). The mechanisms by which the protective effects of ACE2 occur are just beginning to be elucidated.


CONCLUSIONS
As ACE2 appears to exert protective effects within the kidney and vasculature, recent data indicate that how it is expressed, what regulates it, and how it interacts with other biological systems may ultimately have clinical implications.
Ingelfinger
Julie R
JR
Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. jingelfinger@partners.org
D000085962:Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2; D000818:Animals; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology*; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000201:enzymology / Q000503:physiopathology; D020536:Enzyme Activators / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D006977:Hypertension, Renal / Q000201:enzymology / Q000503:physiopathology; D007668:Kidney / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000502:physiology; D007674:Kidney Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D007703:Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000502:physiology*
D020536:Enzyme Activators; D007703:Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A; C000705307:ACE2 protein, human; D000085962:Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2