Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:3.4.23.15 (renin)
 35,795 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The importance of hypertension in the pediatric population is not as well appreciated as in adults. This might be related in part to the lower prevalence of high blood pressure in this age group. As with height and weight, blood pressure increases with age during childhood. The underlying causes of significant hypertension in children differ considerably from those in adults: while the prevalence of hypertension in pediatrics is lower than in adults, clinically identifiable causes of hypertension are common. Abnormalities in steroid biosynthesis have been known for years to cause hypertension in some cases of congenital adrenal hyperplasia. In these patients, hypertension usually accompanies a characteristic phenotype with abnormal sexual differentiation. Recently, the molecular basis of four forms of severe hypertension transmitted on an autosomal basis has been elucidated: (a) the glucocorticoid-remediable aldosteronism (GRA), (b) the syndrome of apparent mineralocorticoid excess (AME), (c) activating mutation of the mineralocorticoid receptor and (d) Liddle's syndrome. All these conditions are characterized primarily by low or low-normal plasma renin, normal or low serum potassium and salt-sensitive hypertension, indicating an increased mineralocorticoid effect. These forms of juvenile hypertension are a consequence of abnormal biosynthesis, metabolism or action of steroid hormones: (a) GRA is due to expression of a chimeric gene produced by fusion of 11beta-hydroxylase aldosterone-synthase genes. Expression of the chimeric enzyme occurs in the zona fasciculata of the adrenal cortex under the control of ACTH and can be suppressed by administration of glucocorticoids. (b) AME is caused by mutations of the 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 enzyme, an enzyme that metabolizes cortisol into its receptor inactive keto-form cortisone, thus protecting the mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) from occupation by glucocorticoids. (c) The activating mutation of the MR results in constitutive MR activity and alters receptor specificity, with progesterone and other steroids lacking 21-hydroxyl groups becoming potent agonists. (d) Liddle's syndrome is due to mutations in the beta or gamma chain of the epithelial sodium channel in distal renal tubule cells. The hyperactivity of this channel caused by the mutations results in increased sodium reabsorption. With the advent of molecular biology in clinical practice it has become evident that some genetic defect may present with a more discrete phenotype, with only moderate hypertension with or without hypokalemia as presenting feature. Considering that hypertension in children and adolescents is often 'nonessential', a search for disorders should be integral part of the diagnostic work-up in young patients with hypertension.
 ...
PMID:Juvenile hypertension, the role of genetically altered steroid metabolism. 1174 Jan 42

Abnormalities in steroid biosynthesis have been known for years to cause hypertension in some cases of congenital adrenal hyperplasia. In these patients hypertension usually accompanies a characteristic phenotype with abnormal sexual differentiation. Recently, the molecular basis of four forms of severe hypertension transmitted on an autosomal basis but without additional phenotypic features has been elucidated. All these conditions are characterized primarily by low plasma renin, normal or low serum potassium, and salt-sensitive hypertension, indicating an increased mineralocorticoid effect. These four disorders, the glucocorticoid remediable aldosteronism, the syndrome of apparent mineralocorticoid excess, the activating mutation of the mineralocorticoid receptor, and the Liddle syndrome are a consequence of either abnormal biosynthesis, metabolism, or action of steroid hormones, and are ultimately characterized by an overactivation of the epithelial sodium channel in distal renal tubules. Hyperactivity of this channel results in increased sodium reabsorption and volume expansion leading to an increase in blood pressure as well as potassium loss. With the advent of molecular biology in clinical practice, it has become evident that some genetic defect may present with a more discrete phenotype, with only moderate hypertension with or without hypokalemia as the sole feature. A search for genetic disorders of the mineralocorticoid axis should be an integral part of the diagnostic work-up, particularly in young adults with hypertension.
 ...
PMID:Genetics of the mineralocorticoid system in primary hypertension. 1179 Feb 87

Monogenic or Mendelian forms of hypertension have ushered in a revolution in our knowledge. If we add information on syndromes involving low blood pressure, this knowledge base is doubled. Glucocorticoid-remediable aldosteronism, apparent mineralocorticoid excess, and mutations in the mineralocorticoid receptor gene have given us brilliant insights into mineralocorticoid-induced hypertension. The latter discovery has elucidated how mutations may modify the receptor sufficiently to allow erstwhile antagonists to have an agonistic action. The epithelial sodium channel (ENaC) has been elucidated. Gain-of-function mutations in the beta and gamma subunits of ENaC cause Liddle's syndrome. Loss-of-function mutations in all 3 subunits of ENaC cause hypotension (pseudohypoaldosteronism type I). Thus, all 3 subunits can be mutated, causing either hyper- or hypotension. Three loci have been described for Gordon's syndrome, pseudohypoaldosteronism type II; 2 members of the WNK (with no ly sine K) serine-threonine kinase family have recently been found to be responsible. Autosomal-dominant hypertension with brachydactyly features normal sodium and renin-angiotensin-aldosterone responses. The gene has been mapped to chromosome 12p. The condition is interesting because it may represent a novel neural form of hypertension. The elucidation of Mendelian blood pressure-regulatory disorders has been a resounding success.
 ...
PMID:Monogenic forms of human hypertension. 1189 1

Compared with whites, blacks appear to retain additional sodium that suppresses secretion of renin and aldosterone. The epithelial sodium channel (ENaC) is an aldosterone-regulated site for sodium reabsorption. ENaC activity could be higher in blacks, contributing to sodium retention or, alternatively, lower because of reduced stimulation by aldosterone. To examine the level of ENaC activity in blacks relative to whites, blood pressure (BP) responses to amiloride (5 mg/d), an inhibitor of ENaC, were measured in 20 black and 25 white normotensive young people. After 1 week, systolic BP decreased by 3.0+/-9.2 (SD) and diastolic by 2.8+/-8.3 mm Hg in the whites, whereas systolic BP increased by 2.5+/-7.1 and diastolic by 3.8+/-8.0 mm Hg in the blacks; the racial difference in the BP response was significant for both systolic (P=0.034) and diastolic BP (P=0.010). As ENaC activity increases, renal secretion of potassium increases proportionately, and in a larger sample of subjects, the urinary potassium excretion rate was lower in the blacks (n=301) than in the whites (n=461): 3.2+/-0.1 versus 3.8+/-0.1 mmol/mmol creatinine (P=0.0001). The concentration of serum potassium was higher in the blacks (n=81) than in the whites (n=167): 4.36+/-0.05 versus 4.21+/-0.03 (P=0.012). In summary, a favorable BP response to amiloride in the whites as well as the evidence for greater retention of potassium in the blacks is consistent with blacks having less ENaC activity than whites. We suggest that increased sodium retention in blacks occurring at other nephron sites suppresses aldosterone secretion and in turn ENaC function.
 ...
PMID:Racial difference in the activity of the amiloride-sensitive epithelial sodium channel. 1246 77

Hypertension is the most prevalent, treatable risk factor for diseases of the heart, brain and kidneys. In this review, we discuss advances in understanding of the genetics of blood pressure regulation, the development of hypertensive complications and the pharmacodynamics of antihypertensive drug responses. Discovery of single gene mutations that cause hypertension or hypotension in humans suggests that the common final pathway for regulation of blood pressure level is via alterations in renal sodium handling. Based on a working hypothesis that common genetic variations contributing to blood pressure variation in the population may also act on this same pathway, we summarize supporting evidence emerging from linkage and selected association studies of candidate genes--including those encoding components of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, the epithelial sodium channel, adrenoceptors, G protein subunits, and other cellular signaling mediators and modifiers. We proceed to distinguish ischemic target organ complications due to arteriolosclerotic changes of the microvasculature from those due to atherosclerosis involving larger conduit and capacitance arteries. Using the example of subcortical white matter ischemia of the brain, we propose that interindividual variation in the arteriolosclerotic complications is more likely than atherosclerotic complications to be related to the same genetic (and environmental) mechanisms that contribute to hypertension. We conclude by summarizing the state-of-the-art of antihypertensive pharmacogenetics, which has succeeded in rejecting the null hypothesis that genetic variation does not influence blood pressure or protective target organ responses to drug therapy. In each of the three areas covered in this review, we indicate the many remaining obstacles to the routine clinical use of genetic measurements in the diagnosis, evaluation and treatment of hypertension.
 ...
PMID:Genetics of blood pressure, hypertensive complications, and antihypertensive drug responses. 1251 86

Pseudohypoaldosteronism (PHA) type 1 presents in infancy with potential life-threatening salt wasting and failure to thrive. Plasma renin activity and aldosterone levels are markedly elevated. PHA1 is inherited in either an autosomal recessive or autosomal dominant trait. The autosomal dominant form manifests with renal salt loss in infancy and a gradual improvement with advancing age. We report the case of a renal form of PHA1 in a German family. PCR and direct sequencing revealed a heterozygous point mutation, c488C>G (S163X), leading to a premature stop codon in the index patient. The segregation analysis revealed the identical mutation in the patient's father, who showed no symptoms of PHA at the time of investigation or before. The family was screened for amino acid polymorphisms in the amiloride-sensitive epithelial sodium channel, which could be a cause for phenotypic differences within the family. PCR and direct sequencing revealed identical epithelial sodium channel haplotypes in the patient and his father. These polymorphisms can, therefore, not be responsible for the difference in clinical presentation. It remains to be elucidated whether other defects or polymorphisms in genes coding for regulatory proteins participating in sodium homeostasis are a cause of the heterogeneity of the clinical manifestations in autosomal dominant PHA1.
 ...
PMID:Identification of a novel mutation in the human mineralocorticoid receptor gene in a german family with autosomal-dominant pseudohypoaldosteronism type 1: further evidence for marked interindividual clinical heterogeneity. 1267 57

Four types of monogenic hypertension belong to the group of mineralocorticoid hypertension, which are characterized by high renal water and sodium retention and resulting suppression of plasma renin activity (PRA), high urinary potassium secretion and consecutive low plasma potassium:1. increased production of the hormone aldosterone: glucocorticoid-remediable aldosteronism (GRH), 2. prereceptor disorder with loss of selectivity of the mineralocorticoid receptor: apparent mineralocorticoid excess (AME), 3. receptor disorder with constitutive activation of the mineralocorticoid receptor: "Geller syndrome", 4. postreceptor disorder with enhanced function of the epithelial sodium channel: Liddle's syndrome. While in GRH high synthesis of aldosterone results in high plasma aldosterone and low PRA, in the primary renal malfunctions of the AME, constitutive activation of the mineralocorticoid receptor and the Liddle's syndrome both plasma aldosterone and PRA are low. These forms of hypertension are rather rare in their complete expression, but they point to candidate genes whose mutations may predispose to hypertension. A point mutation of the ENaC beta-subunit (T594M) occurs rather frequent in people of African origin, with 5%. Therefore it is suggested to analyze the genotype of black hypertensive patients as a prerequisite for a rational amiloride therapy. Contrarily, the rather frequent (A[2139]G) polymorphism of the promoter of the alpha-subunit is supposed to mark a lower risk of hypertension. Mutations in the serine-threonine kinases WNK1 or WNK4 cause pseudohypoaldosteronism type II. WNK1 and WNK4 are expressed in the distal part of the nephron. Stimulation of sodium reabsorption by aldosterone is normal but without influence on hyperkalemia. An extrarenal disorder is suggested to be the cause of autosomal-dominant hypertension with brachydactyly: the patients react with a severely impaired baroreflex und show neurovascular contact. The mutation causing this syndrome is not known.
 ...
PMID:[Monogenic hypertension]. 1271 44

Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is the result of mutations in one allele of the PKD1 or PKD2 genes, followed by "second hit" somatic mutations of the other allele in renal tubule cells. Continued proliferation of clonal cells originating from different nephron segments leads to cyst formation. In vitro studies of the mechanisms of cyst formation have been hampered by the scarcity of nephrectomy specimens and the limited life span of cyst-derived cells in primary culture. We describe the development of a series of immortalized epithelial cell lines from over 30 individual renal cysts obtained from 11 patients with ADPKD. The cells were immortalized with either wild-type (WT) or temperature-sensitive (TS) recombinant adeno-simian virus (SV)40 viruses. SV40 DNA integration into the cell genome was verified by PCR analysis. The cells have been passaged over 50 times with no apparent phenotypic change. By light microscopy, the cells appear pleomorphic but mostly polygonal and resemble the primary cultures. Transmission electron microscopy shows polarized epithelia with tight junctions. The SV40 large T antigen was detected by immunocytochemistry and by Western blot analysis at 37 degrees C in the WT cell lines and at 33 degrees C in the TS cell lines. It disappeared in TS cells 72 h following transfer to 39 degrees C. The majority (29) of the cell lines show binding of Dolichos biflorus lectin, suggesting distal tubule origin. Three cell lines show binding of Lotus tetragonolobus lectin or express aminopeptidase N, suggesting proximal tubule origin. Three cell lines were derived from a mixture of cysts and express features of both tubules. The PKD1 and PKD2 mRNA and protein were detected in all cells by RT-PCR and by immunocytochemistry. The majority of the cells tested also express the epidermal growth factor receptor, cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator, epithelial sodium channel, and renin. These new series of cyst-derived cell lines represent useful and readily available in vitro models for studying the cellular and molecular biology of ADPKD.
 ...
PMID:Immortalized epithelial cells from human autosomal dominant polycystic kidney cysts. 1273 1

Hypertension with hypokalemia, metabolic alkalosis, and suppressed plasma renin activity defines mineralocorticoid hypertension. Mineralocorticoid hypertension is the consequence of an overactivity of the epithelial sodium channel expressed at the apical membrane of renal cells in the distal nephron. This is usually the case when the mineralocorticoid receptor is activated by its physiologic substrate aldosterone. The best known form of mineralocorticoid hypertension is an aldosterone-producing adrenal tumor leading to primary aldosteronism. Primary aldosteronism can also be caused by unilateral or bilateral adrenal hyperplasia and rarely adrenal carcinoma. Interestingly, most of the inherited monogenic disorders associated with hypertension involve an excessive activation of the mineralocorticoid axis. In some of these disorders, mineralocorticoid hypertension results from activation of the mineralocorticoid receptor by other steroids (cortisol, deoxycorticosterone), by primary activation of the receptor itself, or by constitutive overactivity of the renal epithelial sodium channel. The present review addresses the physiology and significance of the key players of the mineralocorticoid axis, placing emphasis on the conditions leading to mineralocorticoid hypertension.
 ...
PMID:Forms of mineralocorticoid hypertension. 1285 54

High blood pressure occurs commonly in individuals of African origin, leading to an increased risk of cardiovascular and end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Black individuals frequently have low plasma renin activity, and their blood pressure responds well to salt reduction, suggesting that abnormalities in renal sodium handling may be important in the etiology of hypertension in this population. The epithelial sodium channel (ENaC) has a central role in sodium transport across membranes, and in the kidney it contributes to the regulation of blood pressure via changes in sodium balance and blood volume. Rare monogenetic disorders have been described in association with hypertension, such as Liddle's syndrome. In addition, other ENaC polymorphisms have also been described, some of which are more common in black individuals. The T594M polymorphism of ENaC occurs exclusively in black individuals and is associated with hypertension in a black South London population. There is preliminary evidence that amiloride is effective as monotherapy in hypertensives with the T594M polymorphism, and a further study is underway to determine whether this is indeed a safe and specific treatment. If so, then amiloride may provide an important new strategy for blood pressure control in affected black hypertensives.
 ...
PMID:Genetic variation in the epithelial sodium channel: a risk factor for hypertension in people of African origin. 1473 May 41


<< Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next >>