Mice with cardiac-restricted angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) have atrial enlargement, cardiac arrhythmia, and sudden death.

To investigate the local effects of angiotensin II on the heart, we created a mouse model with 100-fold normal cardiac angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE), but no ACE expression in kidney or vascular endothelium. This was achieved by placing the endogenous ACE gene under the control of the alpha-myosin heavy chain promoter using targeted homologous recombination. These mice, called ACE 8/8, have cardiac angiotensin II levels that are 4.

The use of knockout mouse technology to achieve tissue selective expression of angiotensin converting enzyme.

The resin angiotensin system (RAS) plays an essential role in blood pressure regulation and electrolyte homeostasis. The effecter peptide of the RAS, angiotensin II, is produced by angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) in multiple tissues. Genetic deletion of ACE in mice resulted a phenotype of low blood pressure, anemia and kidney defects.

Newly recognized physiologic and pathophysiologic actions of the angiotensin-converting enzyme.

Despite several decades of research into the renin-angiotensin system, new aspects of this endocrine system are elucidated every few years, expanding its role not only in hypertension but also in diabetes, oncology, and cardiology. In this review, we describe newly recognized physiologic actions of the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE). These include the role of local versus systemic ACE in maintaining blood pressure, the physiology of bradykinin accumulation during ACE inactivation, and the role of alternate "non-angiotensin" substrates and potential non-enzymatic properties of ACE.

Role of the N-terminal catalytic domain of angiotensin-converting enzyme investigated by targeted inactivation in mice.

Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) produces the vasoconstrictor angiotensin II. The ACE protein is composed of two homologous domains, each binding zinc and each independently catalytic. To assess the physiologic significance of the two ACE catalytic domains, we used gene targeting in mice to introduce two point mutations (H395K and H399K) that selectively inactivated the ACE N-terminal catalytic site.