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(Hypertension. 2004;43:1116.)
© 2004 American Heart Association, Inc.

Scientific Contributions

Adjacent Expression of Renin and Angiotensinogen in the Rostral Ventrolateral Medulla Using a Dual-Reporter Transgenic Model

Julie L. Lavoie; Martin D. Cassell; Kenneth W. Gross; Curt D. Sigmund

From the Departments of Internal Medicine and Physiology and Biophysics (J.L.L., C.D.S.) and the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology (M.D.C.), University of Iowa, Iowa City; Roswell Park Cancer Institute (K.W.G.), Buffalo, NY.

Correspondence to Dr Curt D. Sigmund, Departments of Internal Medicine and Physiology and Biophysics, 3181B Medical Education and Biomedical Research Facility (MEBRF), Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242. E-mail curt-sigmund{at}uiowa.edu

All components of the renin-angiotensin system are localized in the brain. However, because renin is present in very low concentrations, the mechanism by which angiotensin II is formed in the brain remains unclear. We previously reported the development of 2 transgenic mouse models using sensitive reporters, enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) and ß-galactosidase (ß-Gal), to examine the cellular localization of renin and angiotensinogen in the mouse brain. To determine whether renin and angiotensinogen are coexpressed or present in neighboring cells in the rostral ventrolateral medulla (RVLM) and other cardiovascular control regions of the brain, we produced and examined double-transgenic mice, which express eGFP driven by the renin promoter (REN-1c/eGFP) and ß-gal driven by the human angiotensinogen promoter (hAGT/ß-gal). Using these reporter transgenes as sensitive markers for renin and angiotensinogen expression, we conclude that both proteins are coexpressed in the parabrachial nucleus and central nucleus of the amygdala and are in adjacent cells in the RVLM, reticular formation, bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, subfornical organ, and CA1–3 region. These data suggests that, in these areas, both renin and angiotensinogen are in close proximity providing the potential for the local formation of angiotensin I either intracellularly, when there is colocalization, or in the interstitium, when they are in juxtaposed cells.

Key Words: renin-angiotensin system • angiotensin II

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