Optically active (R)-2-hydroxy-4-phenylbutanoate esters ((R)-HPBE) are key precursors for the production of angiotension-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, which are important prescriptive drugs for preventing the formation of angiotensin II and lowering the blood pressure. The biocatalytic asymmetric reduction of ethyl 2-oxo-4phenylbutanoate (OPBE) to (R)-HPBE with carbonyl reductases has sev...

Chloride channels in the basolateral membrane play a key role in Cl absorption in the thick ascending limb (TAL). The patch-clamp experiments were performed to test whether angiotensin II (AngII) increases Cl absorption in the TAL by stimulating the basolateral 10-pS Cl channels. AngII (1-100 nmol/L) stimulated the 10-pS Cl channel in the TAL, an effect that was blocked by losartan (angiotensio...

BACKGROUND The enhanced cardiac sympathetic afferent reflex (CSAR) is involved in the sympathetic activation that contributes to the pathogenesis and progression of hypertension. Activation of AT(1) receptors by angiotension (Ang) II in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) augments the enhanced CSAR and sympathetic outflow in hypertension. The present study is designed to determine whether Ang-(1-...

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) has become an important device to visualize various cells and biological materials for non-invasive imaging. The major advantage of AFM compared to the conventional optical and electron microscopes is its convenience. Sample preparation for AFM does not need special coating or vacuum as a procedure. AFM can detect samples even under the aqueous condition. In this e...

The effects of intrarenal infusion of 1-sar-8-ala angiotension II (P 113) and a converting enzyme inhibitor, SQ 20881, at doses that did not affect systemic blood pressure (2.0 mug/kg per min) were studied in conscious, uninephrectomized dogs. In dogs receiving approximately equal to 5 mEq/day of sodium, intrarenal infusion of P 113 increased renal blood flow (RBF) from 219.8 +/- 32.3 to 282.7 ...

We investigated whether angiotension II was involved with diabetic nephropathy in the mouse model. Twelve days after streptozotocin (STZ) injection, the urinary albumin excretion (UAE) level was increased by 118% of the baseline value. On days 21, 28, 35 and 42 after STZ injection, the UAE levels were significantly increased compared with the level at day 12. A marked elevation of creatinine cl...

1. Intravascular coagulation in the kidneys of rats was induced by intravenous infusion of thrombin and by inhibition of fibrinolysis with tranexamic acid under alpha-chloralose anaesthesia. The amount of fibrin in the kidneys was measured with radioactively labelled fibrinogen. Chronic saline loading and inhibition of angiotension II (ANG II) with saralasin reduced the fibrin deposition in the...

BACKGROUND The activity of angiotension converting enzyme (ACE; OMIM: 106180) in different brain regions of patients with schizophrenia changed, suggesting a possible involvement of ACE in psychiatric disorders. Genetic polymorphism of insertion/deletion (I/D; dbSNP rs4646994) in the gene encoding ACE has been well defined. METHODS The present case-control study was performed on 363 (268 male...

The kinetics of the steady-state inhibition of angiotension I-converting enzyme (EC 3.4.15.1) at 25 degrees C and 37 degrees C with enalaprilat and ramiprilat can be simulated, assuming only one inhibitor-binding site, consistent with a 1:1 stoichiometry if the protein concentration was determined by amino acid analysis. In this temperature range the apparent inhibition constants for ramiprilat...