Angiotensin II type 2 receptor in chronic kidney disease: the good side of angiotensin II?

Angiotensin II is believed to mediate blood pressure-independent progressive renal damage in chronic kidney disease (CKD). The evidence is less definitive than has been implied, and the studies by Benndorf et al. suggest that angiotensin II acting through its type 2 receptor may even have beneficial effects, although the responsible mechanisms remain to be defined. These and other data suggest that the concept of blood pressure-independent angiotensin signaling being uniformly deleterious in CKD is an oversimplification that needs re-evaluation.