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

All four components of the kallikrein-kinin system--kininogens, tissue kallikreins, kinins, and kininases--have been found in human male genital secretions. Kinins are continuously released from seminal plasma kininogens through limited proteolysis by kininogenases like tissue kallikrein from prostate and sperm acrosin. Kinins are the terminal effectors of the kallikrein-kinin system and increase sperm motility and sperm metabolism at nanomolar concentrations. Recent investigations indicate that these effects are possibly mediated by a specific sperm membrane integrated bradykinin receptor, subtype B2. The two major kininase that are present in seminal plasma are kininase II and neutral metallo-endopeptidase. Kininase II, which is identical with angiotensin-converting enzyme, is also involved in the renin-angiotensin system as it converts angiotensin I into angiotensin II and thus is the connecting enzyme of both systems. Apart from the observed effects of kinins on sperm motility, the kallikrein-kinin system is thought to be involved in the regulation of spermatogenic functions of the testis: in the rat, kallikrein activates Sertoli cell function, increases the relative number of spermatocytes and the [3H] thymidine incorporation of testicular tissue, enhances glucose-intake, and increases testicular blood flow. Clinical trials showed that systemic administration of kallikrein may be particularly useful for treatment of infertile men suffering from asthenozoospermia and/or oligozoospermia. During kallikrein therapy, the number of spermatozoa and both quantitative and qualitative sperm motility increased, and a significant improvement of the conception rate was achieved. An increased sperm number was also observed after application of the specific kininase II inhibitor captopril.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Possible effects of the kallikrein-kinin system on male reproductive functions. 131 46

1. This study aims to further elucidate the role of the tissue and plasma kallikrein-kinin systems in blood pressure, electrolyte and volume homoeostasis. Components thereof and of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system were measured in conjunction with frusemide administration, in normotensive subjects and in patients with primary hypertension. 2. Frusemide increased plasma pre-kallikrein, angiotensin II and aldosterone concentrations and plasma renin activity, whereas the plasma level of tissue kallikrein remained unchanged. Basal values and the induced changes were similar in both groups. 3. Frusemide increased the urine volume and the excretion of Na+, K+, Mg2+, Cl-, aldosterone, prostaglandin E2 and tissue kallikrein. These changes were similar in both groups, but the total tissue kallikrein excretion was significantly lower in the hypertensive patients. Excretion of electrolytes and hormones was also measured during three 24 h urine collection periods and did not differ between the two groups. 4. Thus, acute administration of frusemide to hypertensive patients and normal subjects increased the plasma level of pre-kallikrein, possibly indicating less activation to kallikrein and subsequently less kinin generation in the blood stream. This also suggests a role for the plasma kallikrein-kinin system in the regulation of vascular tone and blood volume. Circulating tissue kallikrein does not seem to be acutely involved. 5. Urinary excretion of kallikrein is reduced in patients with primary hypertension after the administration of frusemide, apparently without affecting the renal excretory response.
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PMID:Plasma and tissue kallikrein-kinin systems during acute administration of frusemide in normotensive and hypertensive humans. 165 30

Vasoactive hormones acting as endocrine, neuroendocrine, or local hormonal systems (intracrine, autocrine, and paracrine) are an important component of the many factors that regulate blood pressure. Hypertension may be the result of an alteration in the balance between vasodepressor and vasopressor hormonal systems. Changes in this balance could be due to genetic factors such as mutations in one of the genes of the vasoactive system or environmental factors that alter the synthesis and release of one or more vasoactive hormones. Endocrine and neuroendocrine vasopressor hormonal systems, such as the renin-angiotensin system and catecholamines, play a well-established and important role in the regulation of blood pressure and the pathogenesis of some secondary forms of hypertension. The blockade of such systems has already resulted in effective antihypertensive treatment. The role of local hormonal systems is less well established; however, recent evidence suggests they also play an important role in the regulation of blood pressure and the pathogenesis of hypertension. Some vasopressor hormonal systems, such as the renin-angiotensin system, can act as both endocrine or local hormonal systems. Work using transgenic rats harboring the mouse Ren-2 gene has conclusively demonstrated that the renin-angiotensin system, acting as a local hormonal system, has the capability to cause severe hypertension. Whether this model of experimental hypertension mimics any type of human hypertension is not known. Vasodepressor hormones such as kinins, prostaglandins, and endothelium-derived relaxing factor (EDRF) act mainly as local hormonal systems, with the notable exception of atrial natriuretic factor, which may act as both an endocrine and a local hormone. The tissue kallikrein-kinin system, acting either directly or via paracrine eicosanoids or EDRF, participates in local regulation of the circulation, renal function, and the acute antihypertensive effect of angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors. A restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) that distinguishes the kallikrein gene family of a strain of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) from normotensive Brown Norway rats has been identified. In a set of 32 recombinant inbred strains derived from these SHR and Brown Norway strains, the RFLP marking the kallikrein gene family of SHR cosegregated with an increase in blood pressure. Also, in a study of Utah families it was found that a dominant-allele kallikrein gene expressed as high urinary kallikrein excretion was associated with a decreased risk of essential hypertension. In conclusion, vasopressor and vasodepressor hormones, acting not only as endocrine but also as local hormones, play an important role in the regulation of blood pressure and the pathogenesis of hypertension.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
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PMID:Local hormonal factors (intracrine, autocrine, and paracrine) in hypertension. 188 59

Tissue kallikrein gene expression in rat kidney was examined by in situ hybridization histochemistry. A rat tissue kallikrein cDNA probe, 534 bases in length and complementary to the 3' end of kallikrein mRNA was first used in Northern blot analysis to demonstrate the existence of tissue kallikrein mRNA in rat kidney. Then, kallikrein mRNA's localization in rat kidney sections was studied in situ hybridization histochemistry using the same probe. Positive signals were concentrated in the renal cortex at the vascular pole of the glomeruli and to a lesser degree, the distal tubular cells. Prehybridization with the unlabeled probe can abolish the positive signal; the same result can also be achieved by pretreatment of the tissue section with ribonuclease. By using the same technique, tissue kallikrein mRNA was also localized in granular convoluted tubule and striated duct cells of rat submandibular gland. The results suggest a new site of renal kallikrein synthesis at the vascular pole of the glomerulus. These findings, coupled with the previous studies that tissue kallikrein can participate in activation and releasing of renin, raise a potential physiological role of kallikrein in renin release or prorenin processing at juxtaglomerular cells.
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PMID:Renal kallikrein mRNA localization by in situ hybridization. 277 Jan 12

The level of tissue kallikrein in serum and urine, and of an erythrocyte kallikrein-like enzyme, were compared in 10 subjects without hypertension and in 10 patients with hypertension with normal renin levels. Each group consisted of five men and five women. All subjects were observed at a general clinical research center for consecutive 5- to 6-day periods of daily dietary sodium intake of 109, 9, and 259 mEq. Tissue kallikrein levels in serum and urine and levels of the erythrocyte kallikrein-like enzyme were measured with specific radioimmunoassays or with an activity assay, respectively. Mean active and total urinary kallikrein excretion rates were higher in women than in men (both with and without hypertension) when they were given all diets (p less than 0.05 to 0.025), and these rates varied inversely with sodium intake. The serum immunoreactive tissue kallikrein level was higher in men than in women when they were given all diets (p less than 0.05 to 0.001), but there was no difference between subjects with and without hypertension. There were no consistent changes in levels with altered sodium intake. Erythrocyte kallikrein-like esterase activity was greater in women without hypertension than in men without hypertension (p less than 0.05 to 0.001) when receiving the 9 and 109 mEq sodium diets, but values were similar in all groups receiving the 259 mEq sodium diet.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Gender differences of human tissue kallikrein and an erythrocyte kallikrein-like enzyme in essential hypertension. 318 93

The evidence presented here suggests strongly that the kallikreins-kininogens-kinins-kininase II system has most significant role in regulation of systemic BP. This system is involved in mediation and modulation of renin-angiotensin-aldosterone, PGS and vasopressin in the regulation of sodium water balance, renal hemodynamic and BP. Therefore, reduction in the kinin-formation due to high production of kininase II, and lower formation of tissue kallikrein might result in an increased release of vasoconstrictor angiotensin II on one side, and on the other side much reduced production of PGE, vasodilator. These changes might lead to deranged vascular smooth muscle structures and cell membrane functions, retention of sodium and water, increased plasma volume, and renovascular constriction. These physiological defects might result in the development of essential hypertension (Fig. 4). Although, it is possible now to treat hypertensive conditions with tissue kallikrein and kininase II inhibitors. These discoveries have opened up new vistas to research on the pharmacological applications of kallikreins-kininogens-kinins-kininases in human diseases.
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PMID:Interrelationship between the kallikrein-kinin system and hypertension: a review. 328 Mar 99

In ten human subjects water immersion produced a two-fold diuresis and a three-fold increase in sodium secretion together with a marked fall in plasma renin activity and aldosterone. In contrast, circulating and urinary (active and total kallikrein) remained unchanged throughout the immersion period. Our results indicate that the acute diuresis and natriuresis evoked by water immersion in man is not regulated by circulating or urinary tissue kallikrein.
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PMID:Importance of circulating and urinary tissue kallikrein in the control of acute natriuresis and diuresis evoked by water immersion in man. 354 26

ACE is a function of the endothelial cell that appears vital to integrative homeostatic physiology in stress. The endothelial cell, both in the lung and in systemic tissues, is uniquely situated to detect changes in ambient oxygen tension; thereafter, as exemplified by the effects of altered oxygen tension on ACE, the cell is capable of initiating changes that modulate its functions to reflect the altered physiologic state. Based upon extensive studies of endothelial cells propagated in tissue culture, these altered functions are rapid in onset, rapidly reversible, and quite closely correlated to PO2. Integrity of the endothelial cell membrane is necessary for the modulating changes to occur, and indeed, ACE purified from the cell is insensitive to changes in oxygen tension: it is the cell, not the enzyme, that responds to changes in oxygen tension (FIGURE 5). It is important to emphasize the interdependent nature of the several vasoactive systems. The kallikrein-kinin system, in addition to its putative role in blood pressure regulation, is an intimate component of both the coagulation and fibrinolysis plasma protease cascades. The sympathetic nervous system has multiple points of interdigitation in both the kallikrein-kinin and the renin-angiotensin systems; high levels of epinephrine stimulate renin release and activate both plasma and tissue kallikrein. In turn, both of the vasoactive peptides of these systems, bradykinin and angiotensin II, stimulate epinephrine production from the adrenal medulla. Angiotensin II enhances the potency of norepinephrine released from postganglionic sympathetic nerve endings, increasing alpha-adrenergic tone. In addition, multiple interactions have been described between angiotensin II and bradykinin and the formation of prostaglandins by endothelial cells. Preliminary data indicate that the potency of these peptides in causing prostanoid release is, as might be expected, closely correlated to ACE activity, which itself is a function of ambient PO2. These multiple interactions are diagrammed in FIGURE 9. It is noteworthy that the two fundamental regulators of the circulation, pH and PO2, can be shown to interact at the most basic level with endothelial cell function.
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PMID:Endothelial cell functions in the hemodynamic responses to stress. 630 25

We previously proposed the "kinin-tensin system," a unique vasoregulatory system that can produce both angiotensin II and kinins. To verify whether tissue kallikrein is a part of this system in humans, we examined the ability of human urinary kallikrein (HUK) to generate angiotensin (ANG) II directly from homologous renin substrates such as purified human angiotensinogen (AOGEN) and authentic human tridecapeptide renin substrate (13 RS). HUK released ANG II not only from ANG I but also directly from both AOGEN and 13RS at an optimum pH of 7.0. The amount of generated ANG II from 7.5 nmol of each of the three substrates at pH 7.0 was as follows: ANG I, 292.7 +/- 67.2; 13 RS, 1951.7 +/- 239.6; AOGEN, 2.2 +/- 0.3 (pmol/3h, n = 3 mean +/- SE). HUK cleaved Phe-His and His-Leu bonds in 13 RS, and Tyr-Ile and Phe-His bonds in ANG I. These results suggest that HUK is a part of the "kinintensin system", i.e., HUK can not only release kinins, but can also generate ANG II mainly through ANG I conversion and from AOGEN, the latter being a minor source of ANG II. Furthermore, HUK may play a role in regulating vascular tone under certain conditions in vivo.
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PMID:Human urinary kallikrein can generate angiotensin II from homologous renin substrates. 758 7

An imbalance in the activity of the vasopressor renin-angiotensin and vasodepressor kallikrein-kinin systems may play an important role in the pathogenesis of hypertension after unilateral renal artery constriction. To test this hypothesis, we examined the expression of the renin, angiotensinogen (Ao), and tissue kallikrein genes 7 and 25 days after placement of a 0.25-mm clip on the left renal artery of rats. One week after clipping, renin mRNA levels were 4.6-fold higher in the clipped and 50% lower in the nonclipped kidneys compared with kidneys from sham-operated rats. At 25 days, renin mRNA levels in the clipped kidneys were not different from sham kidneys, but were suppressed to almost undetectable levels in the nonclipped kidneys. Steady-state Ao mRNA levels in the clipped kidneys were not different from those of nonclipped or sham kidneys at either 7 or 25 days. However, at 25 days, Ao mRNA levels were lower in the liver (70%), left ventricle (55%), and aorta (45%) of clipped than sham-operated rats. The expression of the renal kallikrein gene was unchanged at 7 days and was suppressed by 50% at 25 days. These results are consistent with the notion that activation of the intrarenal renin-angiotensin system occurs during the initial phase of the two-kidney, one-clip hypertension model. The renal kallikrein gene, in marked contrast to renin, becomes downregulated in the chronic phase. The differential regulation of renin-angiotensin and kallikrein genes may be an important pathogenetic factor in renovascular hypertension.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Renin, angiotensinogen, and kallikrein gene expression in two-kidney Goldblatt hypertensive rats. 830 64


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