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(Hypertension. 2009;53:790.)
© 2009 American Heart Association, Inc.

Original Articles

Angiotensin I Is Largely Converted to Angiotensin (1-7) and Angiotensin (2-10) by Isolated Rat Glomeruli

Juan Carlos Q. Velez; Kevin J. Ryan; Caroline E. Harbeson; Alison M. Bland; Milos N. Budisavljevic; John M. Arthur; Wayne R. Fitzgibbon; John R. Raymond; Michael G. Janech

From the Medical and Research Services (J.C.Q.V., M.N.B., J.M.A., J.R.R., M.G.J.), Ralph H. Johnson Veterans Affairs Medical Center; and the Division of Nephrology (J.C.Q.V., K.J.R., C.E.H., A.M.B., M.N.B., J.M.A., W.R.F., J.R.R., M.G.J.), Department of Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston.

Correspondence to Juan Carlos Q. Velez, Division of Nephrology, 96 Jonathan Lucas St, CSB, Room 829, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC 29425. E-mail velezj{at}musc.edu

Intraglomerular renin-angiotensin system enzyme activities have been examined previously using glomerular lysates and immune-based assays. However, preparation of glomerular extracts compromises the integrity of their anatomic architecture. In addition, antibody-based assays focus on angiotensin (Ang) II detection, ignoring the generation of other Ang I–derived metabolites, some of which may cross-react with Ang II. Therefore, our aim was to examine the metabolism of Ang I in freshly isolated intact glomeruli using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time of flight mass spectrometry as an analytic method. Glomeruli from male Sprague-Dawley rats were isolated by sieving and incubated in Krebs buffer in the presence of 1 µmol/L of Ang I for 15 to 90 minutes, with or without various peptidase inhibitors. Peptide sequences were confirmed by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time of flight tandem mass spectrometry or linear-trap-quadrupole mass spectrometry. Peaks were quantified using customized valine-¹³C^·15N-labeled peptides as standards. The most prominent peaks resulting from Ang I cleavage were 899 and 1181 m/z, corresponding with Ang (1-7) and Ang (2-10), respectively. Smaller peaks for Ang II, Ang (1-9), and Ang (3-10) also were detected. The disappearance of Ang I was significantly reduced during inhibition of aminopeptidase A or neprilysin. In contrast, captopril did not alter Ang I degradation. Furthermore, during simultaneous inhibition of aminopeptidase A and neprilysin, the disappearance of Ang I was markedly attenuated compared with all of the other conditions. These results suggest that there is prominent intraglomerular conversion of Ang I to Ang (2-10) and Ang (1-7), mediated by aminopeptidase A and neprilysin, respectively. Formation of these alternative Ang peptides may be critical to counterbalance the local actions of Ang II. Enhancement of these enzymatic activities may constitute potential therapeutic targets for Ang II–mediated glomerular diseases.

Key Words: renin-angiotensin system • neprilysin • aminopeptidase A • angiotensin-converting enzyme • angiotensin II • podocytes • des-Asp (1)-angiotensin I