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This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 93/5/549    most recent expphysiol.2007.041350v1 Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Google Scholar Articles by Soler, M. J. Articles by Batlle, D. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Soler, M. J. Articles by Batlle, D. Related Collections Review Articles Renal

¹ Department of Nephrology, Hospital del Mar, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain ² Division of Nephrology & Hypertension, Department of Medicine, The Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611, USA

Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) 2 is a homologue of ACE with enzymatic activity that seems to counterbalance the angiotensin II-promoting effect of ACE. While ACE promotes angiotensin (Ang) II formation from Ang I, ACE2 degrades Ang II and Ang I. In this review, we discuss recent studies that have delineated the localization of ACE2 within the kidney, an organ that highly expresses this enzyme. In models of diabetic kidney, pharmacological ACE2 inhibition is associated with albuminuria and worsening of glomerular injury. Similarly, genetic ablation of ACE2 causes glomerular lesions in male mice and worsens the renal lesions seen in diabetic Akita mice. Taken together, these findings suggest that a decrease in ACE2 may be involved in diabetic kidney disease, possibly by disrupting the metabolism of angiotensin peptides in such a way that angiotensin II degradation within the glomerulus may be diminished.

(Received 12 November 2007; accepted after revision 17 January 2008; first published online 25 January 2008)
Corresponding author D. Batlle: Division of Nephrology & Hypertension, Department of Medicine, The Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, 320 E Superior, Chicago, IL 60611, USA. Email: d-batlle{at}northwestern.edu

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