ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to review the studies that have been performed on the properties of Angiotensin II receptors in neuronal cells, both primary cultures and neural cell lines. It provides an extensive review of the properties of AngII receptor subtypes in neuronal cell cultures derived from neonate rat brain. The chapter discusses the properties of the primary neuronal cultures used in the studies. The presence of AngII receptors on cultured neurons has also been confirmed by fluorescence and autoradiographic methods. One early study used fluorescein-labeled AngII to demonstrate the presence of AngII receptors on cell bodies and neurites of neurons in mixed cultures. The binding of AngII to receptors on neurons in the hypothalamus and brainstem modulates the activity of neuronal pathways and ultimately leads to physiological changes such as increased blood pressure and water intake. Neuronal activity and action potentials are the basis of these physiologic effects.
