What is it about?

Over a period of 60 years, I have studied the renin-angiotensin system, a group of chemical signals that once was thought to be important only for blood pressure regulation and was strictly generated from the kidney. My studies have focused principally on tissues outside the kidney and have been part of the evolution of our knowledge of the signals that include angiotensin, renin and prorenin. I have studied the adrenal gland, the human reproductive tract, the lungs and some clinical studies to show that these agents are important for many biological functions unrelated to blood pressure and probably critical throughout the body. unrelated to blood pressure, and are probably part of every part of our body.

Featured Image

Why is it important?

My studies emphasize that the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) is important throughout the body, not just a regulator of the cardiovascular system. It also shows this control system can be studied in many species, including human, at a variety of organizing levels, from the molecular to subcellular to the organ level to the whole animal. The continued study of the RAS in health and disease should lead to better understanding of biological control systems and treatment and prevention of a variety of diseases.

Perspectives

This publication represents many years and about half of my lifetime research studies. It began very early in my research career (the first year after finishing my internship) and is still continuing over 20 years after I retired. I feel fortunate to have embarked on this journey when it was just being discovered that the RAS might have functions that were of interest to cell biologists and pharmacologists beyond those related to the kidney and blood pressure. I hope this historical review will help future researchers to expand their perspectives in their own research.

Alan Poisner

Read the Original

This page is a summary of: From Angiotensin to Renin to Prorenin and from the Adrenal to the Kidney to the Placenta and the Lungs: An Historical Journey, July 2019, IntechOpen,
DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.87041.
You can read the full text:

Read

Contributors

The following have contributed to this page