Received January 8, 2008
Revised January 29, 2008
Accepted after revision February 26, 2008

¹ Federal University of Minas Gerais

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: robsonsant{at}gmail.com.

	Abstract

In the past few years the classical concept of the Renin-Angiotensin System (RAS) has experienced substantial conceptual changes. The identification of the Renin/Prorenin receptor, the angiotensin-converting enzyme homologue ACE2 as an angiotensin peptide processing enzyme and a SARS virus receptor, the Mas as a receptor for Ang-(1-7), and the possibility of signaling through ACE, have contributed to switch our understanding of the RAS from the classical limited-proteolysis linear cascade to a cascade with multiple mediators, multiple receptors and multi-functional enzymes. In regard to Ang-(1-7), the identification of ACE2 and Mas as a receptor implicated in its actions contributed to decisively establish this heptapeptide as a biologically active member of the RAS cascade. In this review we will focus on the recent findings related to the ACE2-Ang-(1-7)-Mas axis and, in particular, on its putative role as an ACE-Ang II-AT1 counter regulatory axis within the RAS.

Key Words: Angiotensin, Cardiovascular, Hypertension

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