Dzau V J
Division of Vascular Medicine and Atherosclerosis, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02115.
J Hypertens Suppl. 1988 Dec;6(3):S7-12.
Angiotensin II (Ang II), an important peptide in cardiovascular physiology, is the product of enzymatic processing of angiotensinogen which involves two proteolytic steps carried out by renin and angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) sequentially. This system, which plays an important role in cardiorenal homeostasis, is conventionally considered an endocrine system. Increasing evidence supports the existence of this biochemical cascade in many tissues, in addition to its presence in the circulation. The molecular demonstration of tissue renin and angiotensinogen gene expressions suggest that the presence of this system is due, at least in part, to local synthesis. These observations have led to the hypothesis that locally generated angiotensin may be important in the regulation of individual tissue function, in addition to its circulating counterpart. This emerging concept may be important in providing an additional understanding of the role of renin angiotensin in cardiovascular physiology and in the response to pharmacological inhibitors of this system.
血管紧张素II（Ang II）是心血管生理学中的一种重要肽类，它是血管紧张素原经酶促加工的产物，这一过程涉及肾素和血管紧张素转换酶（ACE）依次进行的两个蛋白水解步骤。该系统在心脏-肾脏稳态中发挥重要作用，传统上被认为是一个内分泌系统。越来越多的证据支持，除了在循环系统中存在外，这一生物化学级联反应在许多组织中也存在。组织肾素和血管紧张素原基因表达的分子学证明表明，该系统的存在至少部分归因于局部合成。这些观察结果引发了这样一种假说，即除了循环中的血管紧张素外，局部产生的血管紧张素可能在个体组织功能的调节中也很重要。这一新兴概念对于进一步理解肾素-血管紧张素在心血管生理学中的作用以及对该系统的药理学抑制剂的反应可能具有重要意义。
