Evidence for existence of angiotensins I and II in mature renin granules from rat kidney cortex.

Renin granules were isolated by the combination of discontinuous and continuous Percoll density gradient centrifugation. The peak fraction containing the highest concentration of renin granules was found to contain the highest concentration of both angiotensin I and II immunoreactive substances. The identity of the immunoreactive peptides was further confirmed as angiotensin I and angiotensin II by high pressure liquid chromatography in reference to standard compounds. The coexistence of angiotensins I and II with renin indicates the formation of angiotensin II in renin granules. These findings clarify the mechanism of intracellular formation of angiotensin II as opposed to its formation in plasma and provide evidence against the internalization of angiotensin II, a hypothesis supported by the failure to detect angiotensin I in renin granules. Angiotensin II was increased by a low sodium diet while a high sodium diet did not affect its content.