Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: EC:3.4.23.15 (renin)
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The mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) binds aldosterone and glucocorticoids with equal affinity. In aldosterone target tissues, like the epithelial cells of the distal colon and the principal cells of the collecting ducts in the kidney, the MR is protected from glucocorticoids by the action of the enzyme 11beta-hydroxysteroid-dehydrogenase type 2 (11betaOHSD2), allowing aldosterone to specifically activate the receptor. However, in MR-expressing cells, which lack 11betaOHSD2, like the neurons of the limbic system in the brain, MR is mainly activated by glucocorticoids. MR knockout mice die in the second week after birth, showing at day 8 symptoms of pseudohypoaldosteronism with hyponatremia, hyperkalemia, high renal salt wasting, and a strongly activated renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS). The activity of the amiloride-sensitive epithelial Na+ channel (ENaC) is strongly reduced in colon and kidney, but there is no down-regulation of the mRNA abundance of the three ENaC subunits. Daily subcutaneous injections of isotonic NaCl solution until weaning and continued oral NaCl supply lead to survival of the MR knockout mice. The NaCl-rescued MR knockout mice display a strongly enhanced fractional renal excretion of Na+, hyperkalemia, and a persistently strongly activated RAAS. There is almost no renal ENaC activity. The renal mRNA abundance of alphaENaC is reduced by 30%, whereas betaENaC and gammaENaC are not altered.
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PMID:Mineralocorticoid receptor knockout mice: lessons on Na+ metabolism. 1076 57

Low-renin hypertension is common and usually implies increased retention of sodium (Na(+)). In every case of known etiology, there is a mineralocorticoid-induced increase in number of epithelial Na(+) channels (ENaCs) in the collecting duct of the kidney, leading to a state of "hyperENaCactivity." In primary aldosteronism, a result of either an adrenal adenoma or bilateral adrenal hyperplasia, aldosterone itself mediates the increase in ENaC function. A severe form of low-renin hypertension in which a molecular mutation in ENaC prevents removal of the channel from the cell surface, known as Liddle's syndrome, results in increased net ENaC activity but, in this case, independently of an increase in aldosterone. Glucocorticoid remedial aldosteronism, an autosomal dominant form of primary aldosteronism, results from a "new" or chimeric gene for aldosterone synthase. Adrenocorticotropic hormone stimulates its expression as well as secretion of aldosterone. Apparent mineralocorticoid excess results from a molecular mutation that allows cortisol to bind to the mineralocorticoid receptor. Both glucocorticoid remedial aldosteronism and apparent mineralocorticoid excess result in an increase in the number of ENaCs. The question remains whether low-renin essential hypertension is related to an increase in ENaC activity. Low-renin hypertension is most common in black patients, who tend to have lower levels of aldosterone as well as renin, which are features that resemble those found in Liddle's syndrome. Preliminary findings suggest that black patients with low-renin hypertension who are resistant to standard antihypertensive therapy respond favorably to the addition of spironolactone, a mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist that reduces ENaC activity.
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PMID:Low-renin hypertension: more common than we think? 1117 96

Aldosterone is implicated in cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis. We tested the role of the mineralocorticoid receptor in a model of angiotensin II-induced cardiac injury. We administered spironolactone (SPIRO; 20 mg. kg(-1). d(-1)), valsartan (VAL; 10 mg. kg(-1). d(-1)), or vehicle to rats double transgenic for the human renin and angiotensinogen genes (dTGR). We investigated basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), platelet-derived growth factor, transforming growth factor-beta(1), and the transcription factors AP-1 and nuclear factor (NF)-kappaB. We used immunohistochemistry, electrophoretic mobility shift assays, and TaqMan RT-PCR. Untreated dTGR developed hypertension, cardiac hypertrophy, vasculopathy, and fibrosis with a 50% mortality rates at 7 weeks. SPIRO and VAL prevented death and reversed cardiac hypertrophy, while only VAL normalized blood pressure. Both drugs prevented vasculopathy. bFGF was markedly upregulated in dTGR, whereas platelet-derived growth factor-B and transforming growth factor-beta(1) were little changed. VAL and SPIRO suppressed this upregulation. Both AP-1 and NF-kappaB were activated in dTGR compared with controls. VAL and SPIRO reduced both transcription factors and reduced bFGF, collagen I, fibronectin, and laminin in the interstitium. These findings show that aldosterone promotes hypertrophy, cardiac remodeling, and fibrosis, independent of blood pressure. The effects involve AP-1, NF-kappaB, and bFGF. Mineralocorticoid receptor blockade downregulates these effectors and reduces angiotensin II-induced cardiac damage.
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PMID:Mineralocorticoid receptor affects AP-1 and nuclear factor-kappab activation in angiotensin II-induced cardiac injury. 1123 Mar 74

In the second half of a normal menstrual cycle, progesterone levels rise. Progesterone binds to its specific receptor, but also to the mineralocorticoid receptor; thus progesterone acts as a mineralocorticoid antagonist. For this reason, natriuresis is slightly enhanced in the luteal phase, and, as a reflection of the negative sodium balance, plasma renin and aldosterone rise by 20-50%. This rise is of a compensatory nature, and prevents further sodium losses. All conventional synthetic progestogens, whether they are derivatives of 17alpha-hydroxyprogesterone or 19-nortestosterone, lack the antimineralocorticoid effect of natural progesterone. Ethinylestradiol, as the estrogenic component of combined oral contraceptives, is a sodium-retaining drug. This effect is mainly due to a significant increase of the hepatic synthesis of renin substrate (angiotensinogen). Even with low-dose oral contraceptives, systolic and diastolic blood pressure may be raised in susceptible individuals. Drospirenone is a new progestogen, derived from 17alpha-spirolactone, and the relationship between its progestogenic and its antimineralocorticoid potency is almost identical to that of natural progesterone. In an early preclinical study in 12 normal young women, it was found that the oral administration of 2 mg drospirenone for 6 days led to a cumulative sodium loss of 84 mmol and a significant rise in plasma renin and aldosterone, compared with placebo. In a second experiment, it was found that 2 mg drospirenone given from cycle days 5 to 25 to six regularly menstruating women suppressed ovulation and led to a slight natriuresis without a change in blood pressure, while renin and aldosterone levels slightly increased. The natriuresis and the increase in renin and aldosterone levels did not occur in six other women who received 1 mg cyproterone acetate (a progestogen with antiandrogenic properties), instead of drospirenone. Consequently, an oral contraceptive was designed containing 30 microg ethinylestradiol and 3 mg drospirenone (Yasmin, Schering AG, Berlin, Germany) in the hope of developing a contraceptive that might prevent the sodium retention brought about by the effect of ethinylestradiol. In a 6-month study involving 20 regularly menstruating women, it was shown that the addition of drospirenone to ethinylestradiol did indeed prevent the small rise in body weight and blood pressure observed in some women taking a conventional oral contraceptive. In all studies conducted so far with Yasmin, cycle control and tolerability have been found to be good. In conclusion, Yasmin may become an especially well-tolerated combined oral contraceptive, due to the striking similarity between its progestogenic component drospirenone and progesterone.
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PMID:Drospirenone--a new progestogen with antimineralocorticoid activity, resembling natural progesterone. 1124 98

End-stage renal disease (ESRD) comprises an enormous public health burden, with an increasing incidence and prevalence. Hypertension is a major risk factor for progressive renal disease. This escalating prevalence suggests that newer therapeutic interventions and strategies are needed to complement current antihypertensive approaches. Although much evidence demonstrates that angiotensin II mediates progressive renal disease, recent evidence also implicates aldosterone as an important pathogenetic factor in progressive renal disease. Several lines of experimental evidence demonstrate that selective blockade of aldosterone, independent of renin-angiotensin blockade, reduces proteinuria and nephrosclerosis in the spontaneously hypertensive stroke-prone rat model and reduces proteinuria and glomerulosclerosis in the subtotally nephrectomized rat model (i.e. remnant kidney). Whereas pharmacological blockade with angiotensin II receptor blockers and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors reduces proteinuria and nephrosclerosis/ glomerulosclerosis, selective reinfusion of aldosterone restores these abnormalities despite continued renin-angiotensin blockade. Aldosterone may promote fibrosis by several mechanisms, including plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 expression and consequent alterations of vascular fibrinolysis, by stimulation of transforming growth factor-beta 1, and by stimulation of reactive oxygen species. Based on this theoretical construct, randomized clinical studies will be initiated to delineate the potential renal-protective effects of antihypertensive therapy utilizing aldosterone receptor blockade.
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PMID:Aldosterone and the hypertensive kidney: its emerging role as a mediator of progressive renal dysfunction: a paradigm shift. 1139 64

There are clinical and experimental situations in which symptoms of mineralocorticoid excess are remediable with mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist treatment, in spite of paradoxically low levels of plasma renin and aldosterone. Several decades ago, a factor isolated from the heart was described that had mineralocorticoid properties like those of aldosterone, but much more potent. It was thought to be similar to aldosterone-18-monoacetate or -21-monoacetate, acetyl derivatives of aldosterone that are very rapidly hydrolyzed in the circulation. In our efforts to confirm and extend these observations, we extracted rat hearts and plasma harvested in a manner that would minimize hydrolysis. The product was subjected to several forms of TLC and HPLC and compared to several acetylated derivatives of aldosterone standards. We found that 68% of the aldosterone extracted from fresh myocardium corresponded to an aldosterone derivative that migrates at the same rate as aldosterone-20-monoacetate. The identity of this compound awaits definitive analysis. Tritiated aldosterone-21-monoacetate hydrolyzed to form aldosterone very rapidly; negligible monoacetate remained in blood left at 37 degrees C for 5 min or in hearts left at room temperature for 30 min. Regulation of aldosterone production serves the requirements of fluid and electrolyte homeostasis provided by transport epithelia, primarily that of the kidney. Nonepithelial actions of aldosterone would be freed of these regulatory constraints if the formation of a more potent derivative of the parent compound to which it is almost immediately hydrolyzed in the circulation were regulated within the nonepithelial target tissues.
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PMID:Aldosterone esters and the heart. 1141 57

Primary aldosteronism (PA) may account for as many as 10%-14% of hypertension cases. The plasma aldosterone concentration/plasma renin activity ratio is a simple screening test for PA that should be performed in all patients with refractory/severe hypertension, spontaneous or provoked (by diuretics) hypokalemia, or a requirement for excessive potassium supplementation to maintain normokalemia. PA can be confirmed by a fludrocortisone suppression test or 24-hour urine collection for aldosterone. Confirmatory testing should be followed by high-resolution computerized tomography of the adrenal glands to distinguish bilateral hyperplasia or an adenoma. A solitary tumor greater than 1 cm in size in a younger patient is an indication for surgery; all other (nondiagnostic) findings should be followed by bilateral adrenal venous sampling (if available) to identify a unilateral cause of PA. Treatment for a lateralizing positive study is surgical; spironolactone or another mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist is the treatment of choice for a nonlateralizing study. If adrenal venous sampling is not readily available, patients may be successfully treated pharmacologically.
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PMID:Primary aldosteronism: a practical approach to diagnosis and treatment. 1141 8

Our basic understanding of sodium mechanisms provides unique insights into epithelial transport processes, and unusual clinical syndromes can arise from mutations of these ion transporters. These genetic disorders affect sodium balance, with both sodium-retaining and sodium-wasting conditions being the consequence. A major focus of such studies has been the epithelial sodium channel, which can be activated by mutations in the channel subunits or mineralocorticoid receptor, and changes in the response to or production of mineralocorticoids. As a result, there are now clearly defined Mendelian syndromes in which epithelial sodium channel activity is 'dysregulated', with the subsequent development of systemic hypertension with suppressed plasma renin activity that can be attributed to a primary renal mechanism. Applying these insights to the far more common disorder of low renin hypertension may shed new light on the underlying pathophysiology of this common form of human hypertension, and more clearly define the interactions of dietary constituents such as sodium and potassium in the regulation of blood pressure.
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PMID:Genetic forms of human hypertension. 1145 30

End-stage renal disease (ESRD) comprises an enormous public health burden, with an incidence and prevalence that are increasingly on the rise. This escalating prevalence suggests that newer therapeutic interventions and strategies are needed to complement current therapeutic approaches. Although much evidence demonstrates conclusively that angiotensin II mediates progressive renal disease, recent evidence also implicates aldosterone as an important pathogenetic factor in progressive renal disease. Recently, several lines of experimental evidence demonstrate that selective blockade of aldosterone, independent of renin-angiotensin blockade, reduces proteinuria and nephrosclerosis in the spontaneously hypertensive stroke-prone rat (SHRSP) model and reduces proteinuria and glomerulosclerosis in the subtotally nephrectomized rat model (ie, remnant kidney). Whereas pharmacologic blockade with angiotensin II receptor blockers and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors reduces proteinuria and nephrosclerosis/glomerulosclerosis, selective reinfusion of aldosterone restores these abnormalities despite continued renin-angiotensin blockade. Aldosterone may promote fibrosis by several mechanisms, including plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) expression and consequent alterations of vascular ribrinolysis, by stimulation of transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1), and by stimulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Based on this formulation, randomized clinical studies will be initiated to delineate the potential renal-protective effects of aldosterone receptor blockade.
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PMID:Aldosterone as a mediator of progressive renal dysfunction: evolving perspectives. 1150 95

Aldosterone, the final product of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS), is a mineralocorticoid hormone that classically acts, via the mineralocorticoid (aldosterone) receptor, on epithelia of the kidneys, colon, and sweat glands to maintain electrolyte homeostasis. Aldosterone has also been shown to act at nonepithelial sites where it can contribute to cardiovascular disease such as hypertension, stroke, malignant nephrosclerosis, cardiac fibrosis, ventricular hypertrophy, and myocardial necrosis. Although angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and angiotensin type 1 (AT(1)) receptor antagonists act to suppress the RAAS, these agents do not adequately control plasma aldosterone levels--a phenomenon termed "aldosterone synthesis escape." Spironolactone, a nonselective aldosterone receptor antagonist, is an effective agent to suppress the actions of aldosterone; its use is, however, associated with progestational and antiandrogenic side effects due to its promiscuous binding to other steroid receptors. For these reasons, eplerenone--the first agent of a new class of drugs known as the selective aldosterone receptor antagonists (SARAs)--is under development. In rodent models, eplerenone provides marked protection against vascular injury in the kidney and heart. In phase II clinical trials, eplerenone demonstrates 24-h control of blood pressure with once or twice daily dosing, and is safe and well tolerated in patients with heart failure when given with standard of care agents. Pharmacokinetic studies reveal that eplerenone has good bioavailability with low protein binding, good plasma exposure, and is highly metabolized to inactive metabolites and excreted principally in the bile. Eplerenone is well tolerated in acute and chronic safety pharmacology studies. Ongoing phase III trials of eplerenone in the treatment of hypertension and heart failure are underway. These studies will extend our understanding of selective aldosterone receptor antagonism in the treatment of chronic cardiovascular disease.
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PMID:Eplerenone: a selective aldosterone receptor antagonist (SARA). 1160 37


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