BACKGROUND The aim of the present study was to evaluate the cardiovascular effects of the novel bradykinin B1 receptor antagonist BI-113823 following myocardial infarction (MI) and to determine whether B1 receptor blockade alters the cardiovascular effects of an angiotensin II type 1 (AT1) receptor antagonist after MI in rats. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Sprague Dawley rats were subjected ...

This issue of Circulation Research includes 3 interesting studies that represent new concepts of AT1 receptor–mediated cell signaling in the cardiovascular system, which is currently of intense interest. The AT1 receptor mediates many important cardiovascular responses, including vasoconstriction, vascular and cardiac remodeling (cell proliferation, hypertrophy, and production of extracellular ...

—The cardiovascular and other actions of angiotensin II (Ang II) are mediated by AT1 and AT2 receptors, which are seven transmembrane glycoproteins with 30% sequence similarity. Most species express a single autosomal AT1 gene, but two related AT1A and AT1B receptor genes are expressed in rodents. AT1 receptors are predominantly coupled to Gq/ 11, and signal through phospholipases A, C, D, inos...

Angiotensin type 1 (AT1) receptor blocker (ARB) ameliorates progression of chronic kidney disease. Whether this protection is due solely to blockade of AT1, or whether diversion of angiotensin II from the AT1 to the available AT2 receptor, thus potentially enhancing AT2 receptor effects, is not known. We therefore investigated the role of AT2 receptor in ARB-induced treatment effects in chronic...

Angiotensin-(1-7) [Ang-(1-7)] is a biologically active heptapeptide that may counterbalance the physiological actions of angiotensin II (Ang II) within the renin-angiotensin system (RAS). Here, we evaluated whether activation of the Mas receptor with the oral agonist, AVE 0991, would have renoprotective effects in a model of adriamycin (ADR)-induced nephropathy. We also evaluated whether the Ma...

Angiotensin II (AngII) is a vasopressor hormone that has critical roles in maintenance of normal blood pressure and pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases. We previously generated pregnancy-associated hypertensive (PAH) mice by mating female human angiotensinogen transgenic mice with male human renin transgenic mice. PAH mice exhibit hypertension in late pregnancy by overproducing AngII. A rec...

Intrarenal Perfusion and Angiotensin II Levels Regulate In Vivo Angiotensin II Type 1 Receptor Imaging in the Kidney To the Editor: In the recent issue of Hypertension, Dr Szabo’s group used novel positron-emission tomographic (PET) [C]KR31173 imaging to study the regulation of intrarenal angiotensin II type 1 (AT1) receptor binding in a swine model of renal artery stenosis in vivo.1 In this st...

Hypercholesterolemia and an activated renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system are well-established independent cardiovascular risk factors. Several lines of evidence support an important role of modified LDLs and angiotensin II in the development and progression of atherosclerosis. Angiotensin II is not only a potent vasoconstrictor, but it also promotes proinflammatory and prothrombotic propertie...

Angiotensin II (Ang II) is known to be involved in the progression of ventricular dysfunction and heart failure by eliciting cardiac fibrosis. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate whether treatment with an antioxidant compound, edaravone, reduces cardiac fibrosis and improves ventricular function by inhibiting Ang II AT1 receptor. The study was conducted in a rat model of transverse aor...