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(Circulation Research. 2002;91:982.)
© 2002 American Heart Association, Inc.

Editorials

Angiotensin II Signaling in the Brain

Compartmentalization of Redox Signaling?

Paul T. Schumacker

From Pulmonary and Critical Care, Department of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, Ill.

Correspondence to Paul T. Schumacker, Department of Medicine, MC6026, 5841 S Maryland Ave, Chicago, IL 60637. E-mail pschumac@medicine.bsd.uchicago.edu

Key Words: superoxide • reactive oxygen species • NAD(P)H oxidase • oxidant signaling

An extract of the first 250 words of the full text is provided, because this article has no abstract.

Angiotensin II (Ang II) is a profoundly important signaling component of the renin-angiotensin system. Its principal functions are related to cardiovascular homeostasis, and its many targets include vascular myocytes, endothelium, cardiac myocytes, fibroblasts, diverse cells in the kidney and adrenal gland, and cells in the central and peripheral nervous systems. Ang II contributes to the physiological regulation in healthy states¹ but can also induce or contribute to pathophysiological events seen in certain diseases.^2,3

The cellular effects of Ang II are mediated by its interaction with membrane receptors, of which two subtypes have been identified.⁴ AT₁ receptors are found in vascular tissue, heart, and brain, whereas AT₂ receptors are found in adrenal and uterine cells. Many of the downstream events triggered by Ang II binding to the AT₁ receptor have been found to involve signal transduction steps that require reactive oxygen species (ROS).^5–9 The generation of ROS in mammalian systems begins with univalent transfer of an unpaired electron to O₂, yielding superoxide. As an anion, superoxide does not easily cross cell membranes, so its signaling domain is generally restricted to the subcellular compartment where it is synthesized. Superoxide is well suited to act as a signaling molecule because it is relatively reactive, but not excessively so. Dismutation of two superoxide anions yields hydrogen peroxide, an uncharged molecule that passes easily through cell membranes and can therefore transmit redox signals between subcellular compartments. Like superoxide, H₂O₂ behaves nicely as a signaling molecule because it is not overly reactive and can . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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