Normotensive blood pressure in mice with a disrupted renin Ren-1d gene.

Renin is an aspartyl protease that is involved in the conversion of angiotensinogen to angitensin II and hence participates in the regulation of blood pressure. Mice are polymorphic for the number of renin genes with some strains harbouring two renin genes, Ren-1d and Ren-2. To study the role of renin Ren-1d in regulating cardiovascular homeostasis, mice with a disrupted Ren-1d gene were created. Analyses of kidney renin mRNA expression in Ren-1d-/-/Ren-2+/+ mice demonstrated that only Ren-2 transcripts were present. Mean arterial blood pressures of Ren-1d+/+/Ren-2+/+, Ren-1d+/-/Ren-2+/+ and Ren-1d-/-/Ren-2+/+ mice showed no significant differences. These observations demonstrate that the Ren-1d gene product is not essential for normal blood pressure maintenance under normal physiological conditions.