Activation of two angiotensin-generating systems in the balloon-injured artery

Participation of angiotensin II in the myointimal proliferation following a vascular injury was postulated. This study assessed the potential involvement of the local angiotensin II-forming enzymes in injured arteries of dogs. The potential angiotensin II-forming enzymes are angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) and chymostatin-sensitive angiotensin II-generating enzyme (CAGE) which is highly homologous to or could be identical to the mast cell chymase. Both ACE and CAGE catalyze the conversion of angiotensin I to angiotensin II. We found that the enzymatic activities of ACE and CAGE, and the mRNA levels of ACE and chymase were increased in the injury-induced hypertrophied vessels. The results suggest that ACE and CAGE participate in the hypertrophy through the production of angiotensin II which is a growth promoter for vascular smooth muscle cells.