Racz K, Pinet F, Gasc J M, Guyene T T, Corvol P
INSERM Unit 36, Collége de France, Paris.
J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1992 Sep;75(3):730-7. doi: 10.1210/jcem.75.3.1381371.
The presence of the two components of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) has been systematically investigated in human normal and pathological adrenal tissues with two aims: 1) the detection of renin and especially angiotensinogen, which has not been reported before; and 2) to study possible differences in the coexpression of renin and angiotensinogen in tissue of cortical and medullary origin. The relative levels of renin and angiotensinogen mRNAs were determined by Northern blot analysis in normal (n = 5) and pathological adrenal tissues of cortical (n = 23) and medullary (n = 10) origin. Renin, prorenin, and angiotensinogen levels were also measured. Renin concentrations in normal and pathological adrenals were around 30-fold higher than those in the plasma of normal subjects, except for a Cushing's adenoma, which contains an extremely high renin content. Renin accounted for 56% of the total renin in normal adrenals and up to 87% in neoplastic tissues. This high proportion of renin indicates a likely conversion of prorenin to renin within these tissues. Renin mRNA was detected in each group of adrenal tissues. There was a significant correlation between the concentration of renin and its mRNA (r = 0.75; P less than 0.05). Angiotensinogen and its mRNA were detected in all normal and pathological adrenals. Compared to normal adrenal tissues, the relative amount of angiotensinogen mRNA was significantly higher in pheochromocytomas. However, the increased mRNA level in these tissues was not accompanied by a parallel increase in tissue angiotensinogen levels. Since the translational efficiency of angiotensinogen was verified by in vitro cell-free translation, the low level of angiotensinogen compared to the relatively high amount of its mRNA suggests a lack of storage of this protein in adrenal cells, as in liver cells. This study demonstrates that renin and angiotensinogen are coexpressed in normal and pathological tissues. Tissues of different cellular origin (zona glomerulosa, fasciculata, and medullary tissue), were able to express, store, and process renin and synthesize angiotensinogen. There was no obvious relationship between the expression of these proteins and the pathophysiology of the adrenal gland.
肾素-血管紧张素系统（RAS）的两个组成部分在人类正常和病理肾上腺组织中的存在情况已得到系统研究，目的有两个：1）检测肾素，尤其是血管紧张素原，此前尚未有相关报道；2）研究肾素和血管紧张素原在皮质和髓质来源组织中共表达的可能差异。通过Northern印迹分析测定了正常（n = 5）以及皮质（n = 23）和髓质（n = 10）来源的病理肾上腺组织中肾素和血管紧张素原mRNA的相对水平。还测量了肾素、前肾素和血管紧张素原的水平。正常和病理肾上腺中的肾素浓度比正常受试者血浆中的肾素浓度高约30倍，但库欣腺瘤除外，其肾素含量极高。肾素在正常肾上腺中占总肾素的56%，在肿瘤组织中高达87%。肾素的高比例表明这些组织中前肾素可能转化为肾素。在每组肾上腺组织中均检测到肾素mRNA。肾素浓度与其mRNA之间存在显著相关性（r = 0.75；P < 0.05）。在所有正常和病理肾上腺中均检测到血管紧张素原及其mRNA。与正常肾上腺组织相比，嗜铬细胞瘤中血管紧张素原mRNA的相对量显著更高。然而，这些组织中mRNA水平的升高并未伴随着组织血管紧张素原水平的平行升高。由于血管紧张素原的翻译效率已通过体外无细胞翻译得到验证，与相对较高的mRNA量相比，血管紧张素原水平较低表明该蛋白在肾上腺细胞中缺乏储存，如同在肝细胞中一样。本研究表明肾素和血管紧张素原在正常和病理组织中共同表达。不同细胞来源的组织（球状带、束状带和髓质组织）能够表达、储存和加工肾素并合成血管紧张素原。这些蛋白质的表达与肾上腺的病理生理学之间没有明显关系。
