The renin-angiotensin system (RAS) may play a role in vascular aging. The authors hypothesized that blockade of the angiotensin II type 1 receptor with an angiotensin receptor blocker in healthy elderly subjects improves vascular compliance and endothelial function. Thirty-five healthy elderly subjects were randomized to valsartan or placebo in a double-blind crossover study after baseline test...

Background: Stroke is the third leading cause of invalidism and death in industrialized countries. There are conflicting reports about the effects of Angiotensin II on ischemia-reperfusion brain injuries and most data have come from chronic hypertensive rats. In this study, hypotensive and non-hypotensive doses of candesartan were used to investigate the effects of angiotensin II AT1 receptor b...

Background. Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI) and angiotensin II type 1 receptor blockers (ARB) decrease cardiovascular mortality and slow the progression of renal disease in non-transplant patients, but their impact on kidney transplant outcome has not been well established.Methods. Patients receiving a renal allograft in Spain in 1990, 1994, 1998 and 2002 were considered for the...

Recent studies have emphasized a role of adaptive immunity, and particularly T cells, in the genesis of hypertension. We sought to determine the T-cell subtypes that contribute to hypertension and renal inflammation in angiotensin II-induced hypertension. Using T-cell receptor spectratyping to examine T-cell receptor usage, we demonstrated that CD8(+) cells, but not CD4(+) cells, in the kidney ...

Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), a new component of the brain renin-angiotensin system, has been suggested to participate in the central regulation of blood pressure (BP). To clarify the relationship between ACE2 and other brain renin-angiotensin system components, we hypothesized that central angiotensin II type 1 receptors reduce ACE2 expression/activity in hypertensive mice, thereby i...

Browning of white adipose tissue (WAT) has been highlighted as a new possible therapeutic target for obesity, diabetes and lipid metabolic disorders, because WAT browning could increase energy expenditure and reduce adiposity. The new clusters of adipocytes that emerge with WAT browning have been named 'beige' or 'brite' adipocytes. Recent reports have indicated that the renin-angiotensin syste...

AIM Angiotensin II is well known for its contractile effects on smooth muscle cells. This effect is also present in the gut previously shown in animal models. The aim of this study was to clarify expression and localization of angiotensin II receptors in the human small intestine and to explore the pharmacological profile of angiotensin II effects in vitro. METHODS Strips of jejunal muscle wa...

Angiotensin II type-1 receptor blockers are widely used with the expectation of prevention of stroke, potential effects to ameliorate of type-2 diabetes, which seems to be closely associated with the impairment of cognitive function in humans. Recently, we have reported that an angiotensin II type-1 receptor blocker prevented cognitive impairment in mice after focal cerebral ischemia, at least ...