High levels of human chymase expression in the pineal and pituitary glands

The brain renin-angiotensin system plays a role in both cardiovascular homeostasis and neurosecretory functions. Since the mechanisms of angiotensin (Ang) II formation in the human brain have not been clarified, the aims of the present study were to determine the presence of human chymase and angiot...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Brain research 1997-03, Vol.752 (1), p.269-278
Main Authors: Baltatu, Ovidiu, Nishimura, Hikaru, Hoffmann, Sigrid, Stoltenburg, Gisela, Haulica, Ioan D., Lippoldt, Andrea, Ganten, Detlev, Urata, Hidenori
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Angiotensin I converting enzyme
Angiotensin II receptor
Animals
Brain renin angiotensin system
Cattle
Chymases
Female
Humans
Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
Immunocytochemistry
Immunohistochemistry
Male
Middle Aged
Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A - metabolism
Pineal
Pineal Gland - enzymology
Pituitary Gland - enzymology
Rats
Rats, Inbred WKY
Serine Endopeptidases - metabolism
Swine
Tissue Distribution
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The brain renin-angiotensin system plays a role in both cardiovascular homeostasis and neurosecretory functions. Since the mechanisms of angiotensin (Ang) II formation in the human brain have not been clarified, the aims of the present study were to determine the presence of human chymase and angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) in human and non-human brains. In the human brain, the total Ang II-forming activity was significantly higher in the pineal and pituitary glands than those in other regions. In other species (rat, bovine and porcine), the level of chymase as well as total Ang II-forming activities in pineal glands were significantly lower than those in human glands. High levels of chymase-like immunoreactivity (ir) were found in the arteriolar endothelial cells, adventitial mesenchymal cells and in parenchymal cells of the human pineal and pituitary glands while ACE-ir was mostly observed in the endothelial cells and occasionally found in parenchymal cells. Our study provides the first evidence that human chymase exists in the pineal and pituitary glands. The remarkable regional and species differences in mechanisms of Ang II formation suggest a specific role of chymase or ACE in the human brain.
ISSN:0006-8993
1872-6240
DOI:10.1016/S0006-8993(96)01474-6