1.Escherichia coli-based production of recombinant ovine angiotensinogen and its characterization as a renin substrate.
Yamashita S1, Shibata N2, Boku-Ikeda A3, Abe E2, Inayama A2, Yamaguchi T2, Higuma A4, Inagaki K2, Tsuyuzaki T4, Iwamoto S4, Ohno S3, Yokogawa T3, Nishikawa K3, Biswas KB4, Nabi AH5, Nakagawa T4, Suzuki F4, Ebihara A6. BMC Biotechnol. 2016 Apr 7;16:33. doi: 10.1186/s12896-016-0265-x.
BACKGROUND: Angiotensinogen (ANG) is a macromolecular precursor of angiotensin, which regulates blood pressure and electrolyte balance. ANG is specifically cleaved by renin, an aspartic protease, to initiate the angiotensin-processing cascade. Ovine ANG (oANG) from sheep plasma has been shown to be a better substrate for human renin, and it has been used in clinical renin assays. To expand the availability of oANG, we aimed to produce milligram levels of recombinant oANG using an Escherichia coli expression system.
2.Case-control association study of polymorphisms in the angiotensinogen and angiotensin-converting enzyme genes and coronary artery disease and systemic artery hypertension in African-Brazilians and Caucasian-Brazilians.
Bonfim-Silva R1, GuimarÃes LO, Souza Santos J, Pereira JF, Leal Barbosa AA, Souza Rios DL. J Genet. 2016 Mar;95(1):63-9.
The rennin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) is a critical pathway in regulating blood pressure and salt/water homeostasis, possessing an intimate relationship with the development of systemic artery hypertension (SAH). Once hypertension is considered a risk factor for coronary artery disease (CAD), the RAAS is also related to this pathology. This investigation aimed to analyse if the frequencies of AGT M235T (rs699) and ACE I/D (rs4646994) polymorphisms are associated with CAD and SAH in African-Brazilians and Caucasian-Brazilians. In this study we analysed 714 subjects who underwent coronary angiography to detect obstructive lesions and CAD, as well as blood pressure measurement and SAH, grouped according to ethnicity: 266 African-Brazilians and 448 Caucasian-Brazilians. Among CAD and SAH cases and controls, the genotype and allele frequencies of ACE I/D polymorphism were similar in both ethnic groups. The AGT 235TT genotype and 235T allele frequencies were higher in SAH cases (32%, 54.
3.Regulation of Angiotensinogen Expression by Angiotensin II in Spontaneously Hypertensive Rat Primary Astrocyte Cultures.
Gowrisankar YV1, Clark MA2. Brain Res. 2016 Apr 27. pii: S0006-8993(16)30302-X. doi: 10.1016/j.brainres.2016.04.059. [Epub ahead of print]
BACKGROUND: Angiotensin (Ang) II, a bio-peptide of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS), plays a pivotal role in biological systems. It has been well established that in the brain, astrocytes are the predominant source for angiotensinogen (AGT), which is the precursor molecule for Ang II. The primary objective of this study was to determine the effect of Ang II on AGT mRNA and protein expression levels in primary cultures of astrocytes isolated from the brainstem and cerebellum regions of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) and normotensive Wistar rats.
4.Allele, Genotype and Haplotype Structures of Functional Polymorphic Variants in Endothelial Nitric Oxide Synthase (eNOS), Angiotensinogen (ACE) and Aldosterone Synthase (CYP11B2) Genes in Healthy Pregnant Women of Indian Ethnicity.
Devendran A1, Nampoothiri S2, Shewade DG1, Chatterjee S3, Jayaraman B4, Chandrasekharan A1. J Reprod Infertil. 2015 Oct-Dec;16(4):180-92.
BACKGROUND: Variants in the candidate genes eNOS, CYP11B2 and ACE have been implicated as liable biomarkers that can predict complications like hypertension and preeclampsia. Studies on the impact and distribution of these variants on healthy pregnancy have not been done so far in south Indian or in any of the native Indian population. Examining these variants could lay a strong basis in understanding the genetic aspects of preeclampsia and further offer effective means in early risk assessment in a preeclampsia.
