Intracardiac detection of angiotensinogen and renin: a localized renin-angiotensin system in neonatal rat heart

There is increasing evidence that the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) modulates cardiovascular function through both blood-borne and tissue-derived components. The existence of a local RAS has been proposed in the heart based on biochemical and molecular biological studies that identify angiotensinogen and renin. We conducted the present study to determine the chamber localization of angiotensinogen and renin mRNA in neonatal rat heart and whether these components could be identified in cultured cardiomyocytes and fibroblasts obtained from neonatal rat heart. Experiments using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) indicated that whole hearts obtained from neonatal rats contained both angiotensinogen and renin mRNA. With the use of radiolabeled cDNA probes and in situ hybridization, angiotensinogen and renin transcripts were localized both in the atria and ventricles of neonatal rat hearts. Relative signal strengths for angiotensinogen were highest in the left and right ventricles. In contrast, renin signal strength was overall much lower and preferentially localized in the left ventricle. To investigate the cellular source of angiotensinogen and renin, cultured neonatal heart cardiomyocytes and ventricular fibroblasts were screened for angiotensinogen and renin messenger RNA and protein using PCR and indirect immunofluorescent staining, respectively. These experiments demonstrated that both cell types produce transcripts and the respective translation products for angiotensinogen and renin. These data suggest that the site of angiotensin II synthesis can occur at the level of the individual cardiomyocyte and fibroblast, where it may serve to directly and/or indirectly regulate cardiac rate, force, growth, and development in the neonate.