Journal: Drug Design, Development and Therapy

Article Title: Liraglutide attenuates cardiac remodeling and improves heart function after abdominal aortic constriction through blocking angiotensin II type 1 receptor in rats

doi: 10.2147/DDDT.S213910

Figure Lengend Snippet: Effects of liraglutide and telmisartan on the expression of AT1R, AT2R, AT1R/AT2R ratio, and ACE2 after AAC. ( A and B ) Protein levels of AT1R and AT2R were detected by Western blot assay. ( C ) AT1R/AT2R ratio was calculated from the intensity of each individual bands. ( D ) ACE2 expression in the intermyocardium and intracardiac vessels was determined using immunohistochemical staining and calculated as mean optical density (MOD) in the tissue section (magnification: 200; scale bars: 100 μm). Values are mean±SEM (n=6/group). * p <0.05 AAC vs Sham; # p <0.05 Lira or Telmi vs AAC. Abbreviation: AAC, abdominal aortic constriction.

Article Snippet: The protein contents of the AT1R and AT2R, TGF-β1, Smads, and collagens were determined by Western blot assay., In brief, the heart tissue samples from different groups were homogenized in a lysis buffer and the protein concentration was measured by the BCA Protein Assay reagent kit (Boster Biotech, Wuhan, People’s Republic of China).

Techniques: Expressing, Western Blot, Immunohistochemical staining, Staining

Journal: Journal of Molecular and Cellular Cardiology

Article Title: Angiotensin peptide synthesis and cyclic nucleotide modulation in sympathetic stellate ganglia

doi: 10.1016/j.yjmcc.2019.11.157

Figure Lengend Snippet: Angiotensin synthesizing enzymes and precursors are expressed in human stellate ganglia. In human stellate ganglia the presence of the mRNA transcripts encoding Agt ( n = 4), Ren ( n = 3) , Ace (n = 4) , Ace2 (n = 3) , Agtr1 (n = 4) , Agtr2 (n = 3) and Mas1 (n = 4) were confirmed by qRT-PCR. The qRT-PCR raw counts for the genes of interest were normalized to the control gene B2m using the ∆C T method and expressed as ∆C T mean ± SEM (a). ELISAs were used to demonstrate the protein expression of the relevant proteins of interest including Agt, Ren, AngII, ACE2 and Ang1–7 in human stellate ganglia. Agt was found to be highly expressed in human stellate ganglia ( n = 2, ~53,694 pg/mg), as was Ren (n = 3, 2005 ± 388 pg/mg). AngII (n = 3, 188.7 ± 15.37 pg/mg), ACE2 (n = 2, 171.9 ± 2.60 pg/mg) and Ang1–7 (n = 3, 179.9 ± 6.13 pg/mg) were also identified and were found to have similar levels of expression (b). Data are displayed as mean ± SEM. A model diagram depicts AngII and Ang1–7 release from the stellate ganglia and the proposed pre-and post-synaptic effects.

Article Snippet: Two-step qRT-PCR was used to confirm the presence of the following mRNA transcripts in the stellate ganglia cDNA libraries: angiotensinogen (AGT, Agt; Rn00593114_m1, Hs01586213_m1; rat, human respectively), renin ( Ren ; Rn00561847_m1, Hs00982555_m1; rat, human), angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE, Ace, Rn00561094_m1, Hs00174179_m1; rat, human), angiotensin converting enzyme type 2 (ACE2, Ace2 ; Rn01416293_m1, Hs01085333_m1; rat, human), angiotensin II receptor subtype 1a (AT 1A R, Agtr1a ; Rn02758772_s1; rat), angiotensin II receptor subtype 1b (AT 1B R, Agtr1b ; Rn02132799_s1; rat), angiotensin II receptor type 1 (AT 1 R, Agtr1 ; Hs00258938_m1; human), angiotensin II receptor type 2 (AT 2 R, Agtr2 ; Rn00560677_s1, Hs02621316_s1; rat, human), Mas receptor (Mas R, Mas1 ; Rn00562673_s1, Hs00267157_s1; rat, human).

Techniques: Quantitative RT-PCR, Control, Expressing

Journal: PLoS ONE

Article Title: Functional Local Renin-Angiotensin System in Human and Rat Periodontal Tissue

doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0134601

Figure Lengend Snippet: A) Fluorimetric assay of ACE activity in gingiva homogenates from donors with healthy gingiva (open bar), gingivitis (gray bar) or periodontitis (black bar). The means were compared using a 1-way ANOVA and Tukey’s test. * indicates significant difference from healthy group. B to E) HPLC assay of homogenates from all three groups after incubation with either captopril (10μM), chymostatin (100μM), both captopril (10μM) and chymostatin (100μM), or nothing. * indicates significant differences from all other healthy groups (open bars); † indicates significant differences from all other gingivitis groups (gray bars); ‡ indicates significant differences from all other periodontitis groups (black bars); unless otherwise noted with brackets ( e . g . ). B) Indicates the amount of Ang II formed when incubated with Ang I. C) Indicates the amount of Ang 1–9 formed when incubated with Ang I. D) Indicates the amount of Ang 1–7 formed when incubated with Ang I. E) Indicates the amount of Ang 1–7 formed when incubated with Ang II.

Article Snippet: Angiotensin II receptor type 1 (AT 1 R) , Applied Biosystems , Hs01096942_m1.

Techniques: Fluorimetry Assay, Activity Assay, Incubation

Journal: PLoS ONE

Article Title: Functional Local Renin-Angiotensin System in Human and Rat Periodontal Tissue

doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0134601

Figure Lengend Snippet: 1 ) Periodontal pathogens induce a host-pro-inflammatory response which can affect the RANK-RANKL-OPG axis in bone metabolism. RANKL/OPG balance is an important factor for regulating bone resorption in the periodontal environment. Osteoclast differentiation and activation are driven by the interaction of RANK (receptor activator of nuclear factor-кB) with its ligand, RANKL. Osteoprotegerin (OPG) is a decoy receptor for RANKL that inhibits RANK-RANKL engagement, as previously reviewed by Graves et al. (2011) . 2 ) AT 1 R and AT 2 R are present in periodontal tissue, including periodontal fibroblasts. Ang I is generated from angiotensinogen (AGT) by renin. Ang II generated from Ang I (by ACE) acts via the AT 1 R to induce the activation of the ERK pathway which in turn can upregulate the expression of RANKL in osteoblasts leading to a variety of cellular outcomes [ , ] and possibly enhancing bone resorption. 3 ) Ang II formation decreased when human gingiva homogenates were incubated with both captopril (ACE inhibitor) and chymostatin. After 14 days of experimentally-induced periodontitis, renin inhibition by treatment with aliskiren or an AT 1 R antagonist ( e . g . losartan) significantly attenuated bone resorption ( 4 ), probably decreasing activation of AT 1 R downstream pathway.

Article Snippet: Angiotensin II receptor type 1 (AT 1 R) , Applied Biosystems , Hs01096942_m1.

Techniques: Activation Assay, Generated, Expressing, Incubation, Inhibition