Changes in arterial stiffness and structure occur during cardiovascular diseases and can be modified by angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors. In the present study we investigated the role of membrane-bound ACE (t-ACE) in the regulation of arterial structure and mechanics. Large and small arteries of t-ACE-/- mice were isolated to determine the passive pressure-diameter relationship. W...

GABAergic inputs have been demonstrated in the central nucleus of the amygdala (ACe). However, the contribution of these inhibitory inputs to the cardiovascular responses elicited from the ACe is not known. Experiments were done in chloralose-anesthetized, paralyzed, and artificially ventilated male Wistar rats to investigate the effects of microinjections of GABA, the selective GABAA-receptor ...

We examined the topology of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) mRNA expression, activity, and shedding in myocardial infarction-induced heart failure and sought to elucidate the source of the increased plasma ACE activity in this model. Three months after coronary ligature, lung, scar, and remaining viable left ventricular tissues were analyzed for ACE mRNA expression as well as tissue and sol...

Measurement of serum angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) activity can be helpful in the diagnosis and disease monitoring of sarcoidosis. Elevated serum ACE activity is found in 60-70% of sarcoidosis patients. Usually, the ACE activity is mildly increased (<3-fold the upper limit of the reference range) in sarcoidosis patients. Extremely elevated ACE activity is suggestive of the benign conditio...

Attempto Controlled English (ACE) is a knowledge representation language with an English syntax. Thus ACE can be used by anyone, even without being familiar with formal notations. The Attempto Parsing Engine translates ACE texts into discourse representation structures, a variant of first-order logic. Hence, ACE turns out to be a logic language equivalent to full first-order logic. The two view...

BACKGROUND Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE; Kininase II; CD143) hydrolyzes small peptides such as angiotensin I, bradykinin, substance P, LH-RH and several others and thus plays a key role in blood pressure regulation and vascular remodeling. Complete absence of ACE in humans leads to renal tubular dysgenesis (RTD), a severe disorder of renal tubule development characterized by persistent fe...

ACE inhibitor drugs decrease mortality by up to one-fifth in cardiovascular patients. Surprisingly, there are reports dating back to 1979 suggesting the existence of endogenous ACE inhibitors. Here we investigated the clinical significance of this potential endogenous ACE inhibition. ACE concentration and activity was measured in patient's serum samples (n = 151). ACE concentration was found to...

BACKGROUND Chronic treatment with high doses of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors prolongs survival after myocardial infarction. Since the plasma renin-angiotensin system (RAS) is not consistently activated in the chronic phase after myocardial infarction, the beneficial effects of ACE inhibition have been attributed, in part, to inhibition of an activated tissue RAS. However, a re...

Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors reduce the progression of atherosclerosis in animal models and reinfarction rates after myocardial infarction in humans. Although expression of components of the renin-angiotensin system has been reported in human coronary arteries, no data regarding their presence in carotid arteries, a frequent site for the occurrence of atherosclerosis plaques, ...