The myocardial intracellular renin-angiotensin system.

In recent years several tissues have been found to contain the components of the renin-angiotensin system. Locally synthesized renin could conceivably function in an endocrine, paracrine or autocrine manner. Isolated left ventricular cardiac myocytes of the rat were examined in the present study and renin and angiotensin II were detected in these cells. This observation suggests the existence of a functioning renin-angiotensin system in the heart and, more particularly, in the left ventricular cardiac myocyte. Additional evidence, derived from micrococcal nuclease and deoxyribonuclease I treatment of angiotensin II-exposed chromatin, suggests that angiotensin II could subserve an intracellular function in some of its cells of synthesis.