An update on ACE2 amplification and its therapeutic potential.

The renin angiotensin system (RAS) plays an important role in the pathogenesis of variety of diseases. Targeting the formation and action of angiotensin II (Ang II), the main RAS peptide, has been the key therapeutic target for last three decades. ACE-related carboxypeptidase (ACE2), a monocarboxypeptidase that had been discovered 20 years ago, is one of the catalytically most potent enzymes known to degrade Ang II to Ang-(1-7), a peptide that is increasingly accepted to have organ-protective properties that oppose and counterbalance those of Ang II.

Angiotensin-(1-7) for diabetic kidney disease: better than an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor alone?

In this commentary we emphasize the renoprotective effect of cyclic angiotensin-(1-7) described by Cassis et al. in a mouse model of diabetic kidney disease. The importance of the study is that this peptide was even more protective than the angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor lisinopril administered alone and that when the 2 componds were combined, the renoprotective action was additive.

Apelinergic system in the kidney: implications for diabetic kidney disease.

The bioactive peptides of the apelinergic system and its receptor APJ have been shown to play a protective role in experimental cardiovascular and diabetic kidney disease (DKD). Mechanisms of this renoprotective effect remain to be elucidated. In this study, we examined the localization of APJ within the normal kidney and its kidney expression in the db/db model of DKD.