Involvement of the brain (pro)renin receptor in cardiovascular homeostasis.

ABSTRACT:

Rationale

Despite overwhelming evidence of the importance of brain renin-angiotensin system (RAS), the very existence of intrinsic brain RAS remains controversial.

Objective

To investigate the hypothesis that the brain (pro)renin receptor (PRR) is physiologically important in the brain RAS regulation and cardiovascular functions.

Methods and results

PRR is broadly distributed within neurons of cardiovascular-relevant brain regions. The physiological functions of PRR were studied in the supraoptic nucleus (SON) because this brain region showed greater levels of PRR mRNA in the spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) compared with normotensive Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats. Adeno-associated virus (AAV)-mediated overexpression of human PRR in the SON of normal rats resulted in i

SUBMITTER: Shan Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2948614 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature