An Intracellular Renin-Angiotensin System in Neurons: Fact, Hypothesis, or Fantasy

Justin L. Grobe 1 , Di Xu 2 and Curt D. Sigmund 1 ,3 ,4 1 Departments of Internal Medicine and 3 Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, 2 Genetics Graduate Program, and 4 Center on Functional Genomics of Hypertension, Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa curt-sigmund{at}uiowa.edu The renin-angiotensin system in the brain acts to regulate a number of physiological processes. Evidence suggests that angiotensin peptides may act as neurotransmitters, although their biosynthetic pathways are poorly understood. We review evidence for neuronal production of angiotensin peptides and hypothesize that angiotensin may be synthesized intracellularly in neurons.