RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HEPATIC ANGIOTENSINOGEN MESSENGER-RNA EXPRESSIONAND PLASMA ANGIOTENSINOGEN IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC HEPATITIS

Recent association and linkage studies suggested that angiotensinogen may play an important role in the pathogenesis of essential hypertensi on. However, there is little information in human concerning a relatio nship between plasma angiotensinogen levels and the angiotensinogen mR NA expression in the liver, which is the main production site of angio tensinogen. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine whether he patic angiotensinogen gene expression determines the level of circulat ing angiotensinogen and the activity of the renin-angiotensin system i n humans. The subjects were 36 patients with chronic hepatitis. Blood was collected from each patients for estimation of plasma renin activi ty, plasma angiotensinogen and angiotensin II concentrations and sever al parameters of liver function. In addition, total RNA was isolated f rom liver biopsy specimens, which were then used to measure angiotensi nogen mRNA with Northern blot analysis. Levels of angiotensinogen mRNA were detected easily in the liver biopsy specimens in all of the pati ents. Hepatic angiotensinogen mRNA levels were positively correlated w ith plasma angiotensinogen levels (r=0.41, P=0.013). In contrast, hepa tic angiotensinogen mRNA levels did not show any significant relations hip with plasma renin activity, plasma angiotensin II concentration, h istological subgroup of hepatitis, histological activity index and par ameters of liver function tests. The present study demonstrated, for t he first time, that hepatic angiotensinogen mRNA levels correlated wit h plasma angiotensinogen concentration in humans.