Regulation of Giα Protein Expression by Vasoactive Peptides in Hypertension: Molecular Mechanisms.

Guanine nucleotide regulatory proteins (G proteins) play a key role in the regulation of various signal transduction systems, including adenylyl cyclase/cAMP and phospholipase C (PLC)/phosphatidyl inositol (PI) turnover, which are implicated in the modulation of a variety of physiological functions, such as platelet functions, including platelet aggregation, secretion, and clot formation and cardiovascular functions, including arterial tone and reactivity. Several abnormalities in adenylyl cyclase activity, cAMP levels and G proteins have been shown to be responsible for the altered cardiac performance and vascular functions observed in cardiovascular disease states. The enhanced or unaltered levels of inhibitory G proteins (Giα) and mRNA have been reported in different models of hypertension, whereas Gsα levels are shown to be unaltered. The enhanced levels of Giα proteins precede the development of blood pressure and suggest that overexpression of Gi proteins may be one of the contributing factors for the pathogenesis of hypertension. The levels of vasoactive peptides including ET-1 and Ang II and growth factors are augmented in hypertension and contribute to the enhanced expression of Giα proteins in hypertension. In addition, oxidative stress due to enhanced levels of Ang II and ET-1 is enhanced in hypertension and may also be responsible for the enhanced expression of Giα proteins observed in hypertension. Furthermore, Ang II- and ET-1-induced transactivation of growth factor receptor through the activation of MAP kinase signaling is also shown to contribute to the augmented levels of Giα in hypertension. Thus, it appears that the enhanced levels of vasoactive peptides by increasing oxidative stress and transactivation growth factor receptors enhance MAP kinase activity that contribute to the enhanced expression of Giα proteins responsible for the pathogenesis of hypertension. In this review, we describe the role of vasoactive peptides and the signaling mechanisms responsible for the enhanced expression of Giα proteins in hypertension.

Obtención de anticuerpos contra angiotensina II / Obtention of antibodies against angiotensin II

Se obtuvieron anticuerpos contra angiotensina II (ANG II) para medir la concentración de este octapétido por radioinmunoanálisis (RIA). La NG II se acopló a proteínas de alto peso molecular, se emulsionó con adyuvante de Freund y se inyectó intradérmicamente. Las cuatro primeras inmunozaciones se dieron a intervalos semanales. Las proteínas a las cuales se acopló el octapéptido para la primera, segunda, tercera y cuarta inmunización fueron: tiroglobulina, albúmina sérica bovina, ovoalbúmina y tiroglobulina, respectivamente. La quinta inmunización se dio doce semanas después con ANG II acoplada a hemocianina. El título del anticuerpo se determinó por RIA. Uno de los conejos inmunizados produjo un anticuerpo altamente específico, con un título de 1: 10,000 y una sensibilidad de 1.9 picogramos de ANG II. La especificidad del anticuerpo se evaluó midiendo el porcentaje en que este anticuerpo cruza péptidos relacionados estructuralmente. La reacción cruzada con [Sar, Tres] ANG II, [Sar, Gli] ANG II, [Sar, Ile] ANG II, [Val] ANG I y angiotensinógeno fue indetectable. La reacción cruzada con [Sar, Ala] ANG II, angiotensina III, [Des-Asp] ANG I, [Val] ANG II y angiotensina I fue de 3.3, 8.3, 0.2, 3.1 y 1.0% respectivamente. El anticuerpo obtenido es adecuado para medir directamente la ANG II en el plasma de ratas, así como de otras especies tales como el perro, el conejo, el ratón y el humano, cuya secuencia de aminoácidos es idéntica