Published Online
on August 8, 2005

A more recent version of this article appeared on September 1, 2005

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Submitted on February 7, 2005
Revised on March 8, 2005

Detection of Angiotensin II in Supernatants of Stimulated Mononuclear Leukocytes by Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization Time-of-Flight/Time-of-Flight Mass Analysis

Vera Jankowski; Raymond Vanholder; Markus van der Giet; Lars Henning; Markus Tölle; Gilbert Schönfelder; Anja Krakow; Sevil Karadogan; Niklas Gustavsson; Johan Gobom; Jessie Webb; Hans Lehrach; Günther Giebing; Hartmut Schlüter; Karl F. Hilgers; Walter Zidek; and Joachim Jankowski^*

From the Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin (V.J., M.v.G., L.H., M.T., A.K., S.K., G.G., H.S., W.Z., J.J.), Campus Benjamin Franklin Medizinische Klinik IV, Germany; Nephrology Section (R.V.), Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital, Gent, Belgium; Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin (G.S., J.W.), Campus Benjamin Franklin Institute for Toxicology, Germany; Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics (N.G., J.G., H.L.), Berlin, Germany; and Nephrology Research Laboratory (K.F.H.), Department of Medicine, University of Erlangen-Nuernberg, Germany.

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: Joachim.Jankowski{at}charite.de.

Abstract--Angiotensin II (Ang II) is the major vasoactive component of the renin-angiotensin system. Several components of the renin-angiotensin system have been demonstrated in different tissues. Whereas the roles of tissue and renal renin-angiotensin system have been studied in detail, much less is known on whether the corpuscular elements of circulating blood contribute to Ang II production. Here we examined whether, in addition to vasculature, blood cells also contribute to the circulating Ang II levels. Mononuclear leukocytes were obtained from healthy subjects and were incubated. The resulting supernatant was chromatographed using different chromatographic methods. The vasoconstrictive effects of aliquots of the resulting fractions were tested. Each fraction with a vasoconstrictive effect was analyzed by mass spectrometry. In one fraction with a strong vasoconstrictive effect, Ang II was identified. Mononuclear lymphocytes produced Ang II in amounts sufficient to stimulate Ang II type 1 receptors. Moreover, in mononuclear leukocytes, renin as well as angiotensin-converting enzyme mRNA expression was detectable by RT-PCR. These findings demonstrate that mononuclear leukocytes are a source of Ang II. Ang II secretion by these cells may play a significant role in humoral vascular regulation. In conclusion, the isolation of Ang II in supernatants of mononuclear leukocytes adds a further physiological source of Ang II to the current view of angiotensin metabolism. The quantitative role of lymphocyte-derived Ang II secretion compared with the other sources of Ang II should be defined further, but the release found under the present conditions is at least sufficient to elicit vasoconstrictive effects.

Key words: angiotensin II • leukocytes • vasoconstriction • chromatography • angiotensin II receptors

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Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization, Time of Flight, and Angiotensin II

Friedrich C. Luft
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