• Special Issue Topic

    Angiotensins—A Century of Progress

    Submission Deadline: December 31, 2020

    Guest Editors

    Dr. Carlos M. Ferrario E-Mail

    Professor, General Surgery, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, USA

    Research Keywords: biochemical physiology of the renin angiotensin aldosterone system; neurohormonal regulation of blood pressure, essential hypertension and its mechanisms


    Dr. Leanne Groban E-Mail

    Professor, Anesthesiology, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, USA

    Research Keywords: sex differences in the pathophysiology of cardiovascular disease; aging and diastolic dysfunction; women’s heart health; diabetes and menopause


    About the Special Issue

    “The history of hypertension is both long and short”, so it was stated in the Preface to Angiotensin, Angiotensin, a book edited by Irvine H Page and F. Merlin Bumpus in 1974. Sixty-six years of continuous progress since the research of Skeggs et al. (PMCID: PMC2136385) isolation of angiotensin, the importance of this hormone, a product of the humoral system conceptualized as the renin angiotensin aldosterone system (RAAS) are pillars sustaining the development and applicability of medicines having a definitive impact in human disease, above and beyond their applicability to the treatment of diseases of the heart and the blood vessels. The multiplicity of the actions of the peptide hormones expressed within the RAAS continues to shed new light into human biology, tissue homeostasis, and the development of chronic non-communicable diseases. To celebrate these accomplishments and provide a forward look to RAAS participation in human disease, this special issue will highlight the major contributions to the understanding of the functions of angiotensins not only within and beyond its applicability to control of tissue perfusion, organ metabolic processes, inflammation, innate immunity, and fetal programming. And this issue welcomes diverse types of articles, including Original Article, Review, Meta-analysis, Systematic Review, Case Report, and Commentary.

    The Editors believe that this special issue of Exploration of Medicine will allow the scientific community to reflect how far we have advanced in the frontiers of knowledge, where accepted knowledge of the system may need revision, and target the new frontiers of discovery in reaching ultimate knowledge of how hormones act to both regulate and dysregulate body homeostasis.

    Keywords: angiotensins, renin, angiotensinogen, heart diseases, vascular diseases, stroke, heart failure, chronic kidney disease, pregnancy, fetal programming, age-related mobility/disability, sepsis, surgery/anesthesia-related hypotension, sex differences

    Published Articles

    Open Access
    Original Article
    High salt induced augmentation of angiotensin II mediated hypertension is associated with differential expression of tumor necrosis factor-alpha receptors in the kidney
    Aim: Chronic high salt (HS) intake causes minimal changes in blood pressure (BP) but it induces augmented hypertensive response to angiotensin II (AngII) administration in rodents. The mechanism  [...] Read more.
    Dewan S. A. Majid ... L. Gabriel Navar
    Published: April 26, 2022 Explor Med. 2022;3:205–218
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.37349/emed.2022.00086
    View:1820
    Download:63
    Open Access
    Original Article
    Development of systolic dysfunction unrelated to myocardial infarction in treated hypertensive patients with left ventricular hypertrophy. The LIFE Study
    Aim: While it is commonly thought that left ventricular (LV) systolic function may insidiously deteriorate in hypertensive patients, few prospective data are available to support this notion.  [...] Read more.
    Marcello Chinali ... Richard B. Devereux
    Published: April 02, 2022 Explor Med. 2022;3:160–172
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.37349/emed.2022.00082
    View:1710
    Download:40
    Open Access
    Original Article
    Incident left bundle branch block predicts cardiovascular events and death in hypertensive patients with left ventricular hypertrophy. The LIFE Study
    Aim: Whether incident left bundle branch block (LBBB) is associated with increased cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality in treated hypertensive patients with left ventricular hypertrophy ( [...] Read more.
    Casper N. Bang ... Peter M. Okin
    Published: March 29, 2022 Explor Med. 2022;3:149–159
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.37349/emed.2022.00081
    View:2346
    Download:37
    Open Access
    Original Article
    Incident atrial fibrillation and heart failure in treated hypertensive patients with left ventricular hypertrophy. The LIFE Study
    Aim: The present study investigated the appearance and severity of atrial fibrillation (AF) and heart failure (HF) in 8,702 hypertensive patients with left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) receiving [...] Read more.
    Casper N. Bang ... Peter M. Okin
    Published: March 23, 2022 Explor Med. 2022;3:139–148
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.37349/emed.2022.00080
    View:1797
    Download:37
    Open Access
    Original Article
    Time-varying serum uric acid predicts new-onset atrial fibrillation in treated hypertensive patients. The LIFE Study
    Aim: The Losartan Intervention For Endpoint reduction in hypertension (LIFE) study showed less new-onset atrial fibrillation (AF) in hypertensive patients receiving losartan- vs. atenolol-based t [...] Read more.
    Eran S. Zacks ... Richard B. Devereux
    Published: March 17, 2022 Explor Med. 2022;3:128–138
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.37349/emed.2022.00079
    View:1717
    Download:48
    Open Access
    Original Article
    Placental CD4+ T cells from preeclamptic patients cause autoantibodies to the angiotensin II type I receptor and hypertension in a pregnant rat model of preeclampsia
    Aim: Preeclampsia (PE) is a hypertensive disorder of pregnancy associated with activated CD4+ T cells and autoantibodies to angiotensin II type 1 receptor (AT1-AA). We have previously [...] Read more.
    Kristin E. Reeve ... Babbette LaMarca
    Published: February 25, 2022 Explor Med. 2022;3:99–111
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.37349/emed.2022.00077
    Open Access
    Review
    Role of angiotensin II in the development of subcellular remodeling in heart failure
    The development of heart failure under various pathological conditions such as myocardial infarction (MI), hypertension and diabetes are accompanied by adverse cardiac remodeling and cardiac dysfunction. Since heart function is ma [...] Read more.
    Sukhwinder K. Bhullar ... Naranjan S. Dhalla
    Published: August 31, 2021 Explor Med. 2021;2:352–371
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.37349/emed.2021.00054
    Open Access
    Review
    Angiotensin-(1-7) and Mas receptor in the brain
    The renin-angiotensin system (RAS) is a key regulator of blood pressure and electrolyte homeostasis. Besides its importance as regulator of the cardiovascular function, the RAS has also been associated to the modulation of higher  [...] Read more.
    Natalia L. Rukavina Mikusic ... Mariela M. Gironacci
    Published: June 30, 2021 Explor Med. 2021;2:268–293
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.37349/emed.2021.00046
    View:5703
    Download:236
    Open Access
    Review
    Angiotensin peptides in the regulation of adrenal cortical function
    The adrenal cortex plays a key role in the regulation of metabolism, salt and water homeostasis and sex differentiation by synthesizing glucocorticoid, mineralocorticoid and androgen hormones. Evidence exists that angiotensin II r [...] Read more.
    Gian Paolo Rossi ... Teresa Maria Seccia
    Published: June 30, 2021 Explor Med. 2021;2:294–304
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.37349/emed.2021.00047
    View:3213
    Download:121
    Open Access
    Original Article
    Angiotensin-(3-4) modulates the overweight- and undernutrition-induced ACE2 downregulation in renal proximal tubule cells: implications for COVID-19?
    Aim: The renal lesions–including severe acute kidney injury–are severe outcomes in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infections. There are no reports regarding the influence of the nutritional status on the sever [...] Read more.
    Rafael Luzes ... Adalberto Vieyra
    Published: April 30, 2021 Explor Med. 2021;2:135–145
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.37349/emed.2021.00038
    View:2809
    Download:106