Angiotensin II signal transduction pathways

It has been 100 years since the discovery of renin by Tigerstedt and Bergma n. Since that time, numerous discoveries have advanced our understanding of the renin-angiotensin system, including the observation that angiotensin I I is the effector molecule of this system. A remarkable aspect of angiotens in II is the many different physiological responses this simple peptide ind uces in different cell types. Here, we focus on the signal transduction pat hways that are activated as a consequence of angiotensin II binding to the AT(1) receptor. Classical signaling pathways such as the activation of hete rotrimeric G proteins by the AT(1) receptor are discussed. In addition, rec ent work examining the role of tyrosine phosphorylation in angiotensin II-m ediated signal transduction is also examined. Understanding how these disti nct signaling pathways transduce signals from the cell surface will advance our understanding of how such a simple molecule elicits such a wide variet y of specific cellular responses. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.