Development and application of a biological peptide pump for the study of the in vivo actions of angiotensin peptides

In the past few years, a great deal of interest has been focused on the pos sibility that angiotensin peptides could have direct effects on target tiss ues independent of their hemodynamic effects. In addition, there has been m uch speculation on the potential biological roles of angiotensin peptides o ther than angiotensin Il. Unfortunately, a direct test of these possibiliti es in whole animals has been difficult due to limitations in existing biolo gical systems. In this review, we describe the characteristics of an engine ered protein capable of directing the production of a wide variety of pepti des to specific tissues and cell types in transgenic animals and discuss it s potential applications. Am J Hypertens 2001;14:33S-43S (C) 2001 American Journal of Hypertension, Ltd.