Angiotensinases Restrict Locally Generated Angiotensin II to the Blood Vessel Wall

Abstract

We tested the hypothesis that angiotensinases limit the spillover of locally formed angiotensin II into the circulation. The release of angiotensin peptides from isolated rat hindquarters perfused with an artificial medium was measured by high-performance liquid chromatography and radioimmunoassay. The spontaneous release of angiotensins was increased by the angiotensinase inhibitors phenanthroline (850 +/- 195 versus 95 +/- 33 fmol of angiotensin I per 30 minutes in controls, P .05) despite lower angiotensin II levels in the venous effluent than during infusion of exogenous angiotensin II (65 +/- 2 versus 482 +/- 33 fmol/mL, P