angiotensinogen and Arteriosclerosis

Topics: Adipocytes; Adiponectin; Adipose Tissue; Angiotensinogen; Arteriosclerosis; Humans; Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; Life Style; Lipid Metabolism; Metabolic Syndrome; Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor 1; Risk Factors; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; Viscera

Genetic polymorphisms of factors regulating the function of endothelium and blood pressure are recently intensively studied also in type 2 diabetes because endothelial dysfunction and arterial hypertension are risk factors of atherosclerosis. The following review deals with relations of polymorphisms in the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone (RAAS) system, polymorphisms of NO-synthase (NOS) as well as the gene for atrial natriuretic peptide (hANP). So far most information was assembled on the influence of polymorphisms of RAAS genes, in particular the gene coding the angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE), on complications of type 2 diabetes. A relationship with the development of coronary disease was described in ACE genes, the receptor for angiotensin II--type 1 (AT1R), angiotensinogen and in several NOS polymorphisms. Also the relationship of polymorphisms of genes ACE, AT1R, NOS and hANP was described in relation to the development of hypertension which is an important risk factor for macrovascular and microvascular complications of diabetes. In some investigations the relationship of polymorphisms of ACE and AT1R genes and the development of diabetic nephropathy was described where a significant acceleration of the process of atherogenesis occurs. As type 2 diabetes mellitus and atherosclerosis are polygenically determinal diseases, it will be in particular necessary to investigate in future the concurrent influence of several gene polymorphisms and their interactions with the diabetic milieu intérieur on the development of macrovascular and microvascular complications of diabetes.

Topics: Angiotensinogen; Arteriosclerosis; Atrial Natriuretic Factor; Blood Pressure; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2; Diabetic Angiopathies; Endothelium, Vascular; Humans; Nitric Oxide Synthase; Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A; Polymorphism, Genetic; Receptors, Angiotensin; Renin-Angiotensin System; Risk Factors

Topics: Aldehyde Reductase; Angiotensinogen; Apolipoproteins E; Arteriosclerosis; Aryldialkylphosphatase; Diabetic Nephropathies; Diabetic Retinopathy; Disease Progression; DNA, Mitochondrial; Esterases; Humans; Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase (NADPH2); Oxidoreductases Acting on CH-NH Group Donors; Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A; Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor 1; Polymorphism, Genetic; Receptor for Advanced Glycation End Products; Receptors, CCR5; Receptors, Immunologic; Risk Factors

Because of its small size, low cost of maintenance, breeding capabilities in captivity, the marmoset, a New World monkey, appears well suited for clinical and fundamental investigations. The contribution of this laboratory animal in the main areas of biomedical research is succinctly described: viral oncology, infections diseases, immunology, reproduction, toxicology and teratology, odontology, behaviour and neuro-psychopathology. Emphasis is put upon the exceptional interest of the use of marmoset as a biological model in cardiovascular studies.

Topics: Angiotensinogen; Animals; Arteriosclerosis; Callitrichinae; Cardiovascular Diseases; Disease Models, Animal; Hypertension; Research

Topics: Amino Acid Sequence; Angiotensinogen; Apoproteins; Arteriosclerosis; Atrial Natriuretic Factor; Cloning, Molecular; DNA; Genetic Engineering; Humans; Hyperlipoproteinemia Type II; Hyperlipoproteinemia Type III; Hypertension; Myosins; Receptors, Cell Surface; Receptors, Lipoprotein; Sodium-Potassium-Exchanging ATPase

The impairment of the tissue kallikrein-kinin system (KKS) may result in atheroma development. To determine the involvement of KKS in pathophysiology of human atherosclerosis, we examined the expression of all components of this system as well as angiotensinogen (another tissue kallikrein (TK) substrate), at messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) and protein levels in the human carotid artery with and without atheroma.. mRNA levels were compared with semi-quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) between atheroma plaque and intact tissue obtained during carotid endarterectomy in 15 patients. The cellular localization of the transcripts and proteins was analyzed with in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry. TK activity was measured using chromogenic substrate.. The kininogen mRNA was not detected in carotid wall. The TK mRNA was increased four-fold and TK activity 23-fold in atheroma plaque compared with intact tissue. No difference was observed for B1, B2 receptors, kallistatin, angiotensinogen and protein-kinase G type 1alpha (PK-G) mRNAs. The TK and angiotensinogen transcripts as well as kininogen and angiotensinogen proteins were present in both intimal and medial cells. The kininogen immunoreactivity was weaker in atheroma.. All KKS components were synthesized in arterial wall except kininogen probably coming from plasma. The absence of PK-G mRNA down-regulation in atheroma suggests that the kallikrein induction does not lead to KKS activation.

Topics: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Angiotensinogen; Arteriosclerosis; Carotid Artery, Common; Endarterectomy; Female; Gene Expression; Humans; Immunohistochemistry; Kallikrein-Kinin System; Kininogens; Male; Middle Aged; Tissue Kallikreins; Tunica Intima; Tunica Media

It is largely unknown to what extent genetic abnormalities contribute to the development of atherosclerotic renal artery disease. Among the potential candidate genes, those of the renin-angiotensin system and the endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) rank high because of their importance in the atherosclerotic process. We investigated the association of polymorphisms in these genes (the angiotensinogen Met235Thr, the angiotensin-converting enzyme insertion/deletion, the angiotensin II type-1 receptor A1166C, and the eNOS Glu298Asp) with the presence or absence of atherosclerotic renovascular disease in 456 consecutive hypertensive patients referred for renal angiography on the suspicion of renovascular hypertension. Nondiseased normotensive (n=200) and hypertensive (n=154) patients from a family practice served as external controls. Renal artery disease was present in 30% of our angiography group. The Asp allele of the eNOS Glu298Asp polymorphism was associated with atherosclerotic renal artery stenosis with an odds ratio of 1.44 (95% confidence interval 1.00 to 2.09) versus hypertensives with angiographically proven patent arteries, of 1.89 (1.24 to 2.87) versus hypertensive family practice controls, and of 2.09 (1.29 to 3.38) versus normotensive family practice controls. However, this allele also differed significantly between patients with patent renal arteries and normotensive and hypertensive controls. No differences were found with respect to the other genetic polymorphisms. We hypothesize that the Asp allele of the Glu298Asp polymorphism may predispose to the development of atherosclerotic lesions but that renal artery involvement depends on other factors, also.

Topics: Aged; Angiotensinogen; Arteriosclerosis; Female; Genotype; Humans; Hypertension, Renovascular; Logistic Models; Male; Middle Aged; Nitric Oxide Synthase; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type III; Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A; Polymorphism, Genetic; Radiography; Receptors, Angiotensin; Retinal Artery Occlusion; Risk Factors

Topics: Adult; Angiotensinogen; Arteriosclerosis; Blood Coagulation; Cardiovascular Diseases; Coronary Angiography; Coronary Disease; Endothelium, Vascular; Genotype; Heat-Shock Proteins; Hemodynamics; Humans; Hypertension; Male; Myocardial Infarction; Nitric Oxide; Platelet Aggregation; Risk Factors; Vasodilation

Hypercholesterolemia-induced atherosclerosis is attenuated by either pharmacological antagonism of AT1 receptors or AT1A receptor deficiency. However, the mechanism underlying the pronounced responses to angiotensin II (Ang II) antagonism has not been determined. We hypothesized that hypercholesterolemia stimulates the production of angiotensin peptides to provide a rationale for the profound effect of AT1A receptor deficiency on atherogenesis.. Atherosclerotic lesions were analyzed in LDL receptor-deficient mice. Immunocytochemical analysis demonstrated that atherosclerotic lesions contained all the components of the conventional pathway for Ang II synthesis. AT1A receptor deficiency caused a marked decrease in atherosclerotic lesion size in both the aortic root and arch of male and female mice, without a discernible effect on composition. AT1A receptor deficiency-induced reductions in atherosclerosis were independent of systolic blood pressure and measurements of oxidation and chemoattractants. Aortic AT2 receptor mRNA expression was not altered in AT1A receptor-deficient mice, and AT2 receptor deficiency had no effect on lesion area or cellular composition. Hypercholesterolemia greatly augmented the systemic renin-angiotensin system, as demonstrated by large increases in plasma concentrations of angiotensinogen and angiotensin peptides (Ang II, III, IV, and 4-8). These increases were ablated in hypercholesterolemic AT1A receptor-deficient mice.. AT1A receptor deficiency had a striking effect in reducing hypercholesterolemia-induced atherosclerosis in LDL receptor-negative mice. Hypercholesterolemia was associated with increased systemic angiotensinogen and angiotensin peptides, which were reduced in AT1A receptor-deficient mice. These results demonstrate that hypercholesterolemia-induced stimulation of angiotensin peptide production provides a basis for the marked effect of AT1A receptor deficiency in reducing atherosclerosis.

Topics: Amino Acid Sequence; Angiotensin II; Angiotensin III; Angiotensinogen; Animals; Aortic Diseases; Arteriosclerosis; Chemokine CCL2; Chickens; Diet, Atherogenic; Female; Hypercholesterolemia; Male; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Molecular Sequence Data; Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A; Receptor, Angiotensin, Type 1; Receptor, Angiotensin, Type 2; Receptors, LDL; Renin-Angiotensin System; RNA, Messenger

A missense gene mutation with methione-to-threonine amino acid substitution at codon 235 (M235T) of angiotensinogen (AGT) has been associated with higher plasma AGT levels and may influence the pathogenesis of cardiac hypertrophy and atherosclerosis. This study was undertaken to investigate the relationship of the M235T polymorphism of the AGT gene with left ventricular mass (LVM) and carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) in 175 Chinese patients with hypertension. The M235T mutation was detected by a mispairing primer method to create a BstUI restriction site in the polymerase chain reaction. The LVM was calculated with M-mode echocardiographic measures of the left ventricle. The IMT was measured in the common carotid and carotid bifurcation by B-mode ultrasound. Patients with the TT genotype (n = 106) were found to have significantly greater LVM index than those with the MM (n = 32) and MT (n = 37) genotypes (129.2 +/- 34.3 v 112.5 +/- 38.3 and 107.4 +/- 30.0 g/m2, P = .002), but the carotid IMT showed insignificant differences among three genotypic groups (1.320 +/- 0.703, 1.349 +/- 0.777, and 1.309 +/- 0.797 mm, P = .97). The M235T polymorphism (P = .004) was a significant predictor for LVM on multiple regression analysis, controlling all the potential confounding factors including age (P = .04), gender (P = .000), body mass index (P = .000), and so on, but the carotid IMT correlated only with age (P = .000), smoking (P = .02), and tissue plasminogen activator antigen (P = .02). These results indicated that the TT genotype of the AGT gene could be considered a risk factor for the development of cardiac hypertrophy, but not for carotid atherosclerosis in the hypertensive population.

Topics: Amino Acid Substitution; Angiotensinogen; Arteriosclerosis; Blood Flow Velocity; Blood Pressure; Carotid Arteries; Carotid Artery Diseases; DNA; DNA Primers; Echocardiography, Doppler, Pulsed; Female; Humans; Hypertension; Hypertrophy, Left Ventricular; Male; Middle Aged; Mutation, Missense; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Polymorphism, Genetic; Predictive Value of Tests; Ultrasonography, Doppler, Duplex

Genes that influence the renin-angiotensin system have been investigated in recent years as potential etiologic candidates of cardiovascular and renal diseases. In atheromatous renal artery stenosis (RAS), a condition characterized by persistent activation of the renin-angiotensin system, the study of these genes may be of particular relevance. We evaluated angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) insertion/deletion, angiotensinogen (AGT) M235T, and angiotensin II receptor (ATR) A1166C polymorphisms in relation to the occurrence of RAS. We studied 58 patients with angiographically documented RAS; 102 normotensive subjects with normal coronary arteries and no history or clinical or instrumental evidence of atherosclerosis in other vascular districts were considered the control group. Patients had a significantly higher D allele frequency (0.70 versus 0.55; chi(2) 6.88, P=0.01; odds ratio [OR] 1. 9, 95% CI 1.17 to 3.07) than did the control population; 48.3% of patients were homozygous for DD (chi(2) 6.62, P<0.05; OR 2.04, 95% CI 1.05 to 3.95); and only 8.6% carried the II genotype (OR 0.34, 95% CI 0.19 to 1.47). No significant association was found for AGT M235T and ATR A1166C. Our results suggest a predisposing role for ACE genetic polymorphism in the development and progression of atheromatous RAS.

Topics: Adult; Aged; Alleles; Angiotensinogen; Arteriosclerosis; Female; Genotype; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A; Polymorphism, Genetic; Receptors, Angiotensin; Renal Artery Obstruction

Polymorphisms of the renin-angiotensin system are associated with cardiovascular pathology. Therefore, the association of the insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphism of the angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) gene and the T235 (methionine to threonine substitution) polymorphism of the angiotensinogen (AGT) gene with intima-media thickness of the carotid artery was investigated.. Subjects were randomly selected from two centers participating in both the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) and NHLBI Family Heart Studies. Probands were 45-64 years of age who were free of cardiovascular disease and had B-mode ultrasound measured carotid intima-media thickness. Multiplex polymerase chain reaction amplification was used to evaluate the ACE I/D and AGT T235 polymorphisms: genotype information was available on 495 and 475 participants, respectively. The frequencies of the ACE D and AGT T alleles were 0.56 and 0.52, respectively; 30% were homozygous for the ACE D allele, and 29% were homozygous for the AGT T allele. After adjustment for systolic blood pressure, antihypertensive medication use, diabetes, age, sex and LDL cholesterol, the mean intima-media thickness was 0.729, 0.732 and 0.721 mm in the ACE DD, ID, and II genotypes, respectively (partial F test 1.53, P = 0.22), and 0.727, 0.732 and 0.724 mm in the AGT MM, MT, and TT genotypes, respectively (partial F test 0.91, P = 0.40). Combining the genotypes for ACE and AGT, there were also no differences in intima-media thickness across the eight joint genotypes.. We found no evidence that the ACE I/D and AGT T235 polymorphisms of the renin-angiotensin system were associated with carotid intima-media thickness in this population-based sample of middle-aged adults with no history of cardiovascular disease. The lack of an association between these variants and intima-media thickness may indicate that early atherosclerosis is mediated by factors other than these RAS polymorphisms.

Topics: Angiotensinogen; Arteriosclerosis; Carotid Artery Diseases; Female; Genotype; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A; Risk Factors; Tunica Intima; Tunica Media; Ultrasonography

The present study was designed to investigate the development of atherosclerotic lesions in hypertensive transgenic mice carrying both the human renin and angiotensinogen genes (Tsukuba hypertensive mice; THM). THM and C57BL/6J control mice 2 to 3 months of age were fed with either an atherogenic or a normal diet for 14 weeks. Although the systolic blood pressure of either strain remained the same regardless of diet, it was significantly higher in THM than in C57BL/6J on both diets. Total plasma cholesterol concentrations in mice on the atherogenic diet were significantly higher than those in mice fed the normal diet. Lipoprotein profiles of cholesterol in THM were fundamentally similar to those in C57BL/6J on either the atherogenic or normal diet. Compared with controls, however, microscopic analyses revealed accelerated damage of cellular structure in the aortic root in THM fed with the atherogenic diet. Remarkably, the surface area of atherosclerotic lesion in THM was shown by quantitative image analysis to be 4 times larger than that in C57BL/6J on the same atherogenic diet. These findings suggested that hypertension induced by the activated renin-angiotensin system is involved in the development of atherosclerotic lesions. Therefore, THM should be a useful animal model for the study on the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis.

Topics: Angiotensinogen; Animals; Aorta; Arteriosclerosis; Blood Glucose; Blood Pressure; Cholesterol; Diet, Atherogenic; Disease Models, Animal; Female; Humans; Hypertension; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Mice, Transgenic; Renin; Renin-Angiotensin System

Genetic influences in cerebrovascular disease (CVD) may act either independently or by predisposing to, or modulating, the effect of risk factors such as hypertension. Factors involved in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, thrombosis and vasoconstriction are important in CVD. The angiotensinogen gene has recently been linked with essential hypertension in affected sibships and a particular polymorphism in exon 2 of the angiotensinogen gene, a threonine to methionine substitution at position 235 (M235T), has been associated with pre-eclampsia and hypertension. In this study we examined the relation of M235T polymorphism to cerebrovascular disease and carotid atheroma in 100 consecutive Caucasian patients with internal carotid artery territory ischaemia (TIA or stroke), presenting to a carotid ultrasound service. Forty five age-matched controls (mostly patients' spouses) were also studied. Hypertension was defined as current treatment with anti-hypertensive agents, or SBP > 160 mm Hg or DBP > 95 mm Hg. Twelve of 100 cases (12%) and eight of 45 controls (12%) were homozygous for the T235 allele. T:M allele ratios were 0.34:0.66 in cases and 0.34:0.66 in controls. There was no relation between the polymorphism and either internal carotid stenosis or common carotid artery intima-media thickness. In the cases, mean percentage internal carotid artery stenosis was TT 18.3 (SD 18.7)%, MT 38.0 (27.1)% and MM 36.8 (30.2)%. Mean intima-media thickness was TT 0.87 (0.18) mm, MT 0.95 (0.34) mm and MM 0.88 (0.23) mm. There was no relation between the polymorphism and hypertension (TT 11 of 100 cases, six of 45 controls).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Topics: Aged; Alleles; Analysis of Variance; Angiotensinogen; Arteriosclerosis; Carotid Stenosis; Case-Control Studies; Cerebrovascular Disorders; Female; Homozygote; Humans; Hypertension; Male; Middle Aged; Polymorphism, Genetic; Risk Factors; Threonine; Ultrasonography, Doppler, Color