Cardiovascular Protective vs. Anti‐Cancer Properties: Novel Actions of the AT2R Agonist, NP‐6A4

• Published in: The FASEB journal 2017-04, Vol.31 (S1)
• Main Authors: Belenchia, Anthony M, Beauparlant, Paige, Mahmood, Abuzar, Bajwa, Jamal, Zhang, Qiong, Khare, Sharad, Pulakat, Lakshmi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0892-6638; 1530-6860
• DOI: 10.1096/fasebj.31.1_supplement.lb680

Abstract only Angiotensin II receptor AT2R is a member of the anti‐inflammatory branch of Renin‐Angiotensin System that exerts vasodilative, cardioreparative, and neuroprotective effects. AT2R agonist therapy represents a potential approach to treating cardiac repair following ischemia. However, low level expression of AT2R encoded by the Agtr2 gene in adult tissues present challenges in using AT2R activation as a therapy for cardiovascular protection. AT2R agonists such as CGP42112A (a peptide agonist) or C21 (a non‐peptide agonist) are not reported to increase Agtr2 expression. We previously reported that NP‐6A4, a novel peptide agonist of the AT2R (from Novopyxis Inc), could improve cell survival and viability of serum‐starved mouse cardiomyocyte HL‐1 cells and primary human coronary artery vascular smooth muscle cells (hCAVSMC). Here we report that treatment of hCAVSMC with NP‐6A4 (1μM) for 48 hours resulted in significant increases in Agtr2 expression (up to 4 fold; p