ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the hormonal influences on vascular and cardiac structure. Numerous in vivo studies have implicated angiotensin II (AngII) in the chronic changes in vascular structure that occur during hypertension. It aims to review the molecular and cellular biology of these processes. Cultured rat aortic smooth muscle cells have been used as a model system for the studies of the growth-promoting effects of AngII. These cells are isolated from the aortas of young rats by enzymatic dispersal and are maintained in culture for 10 to 12 passages. The chapter examines the direct transcriptional consequences of fos and jun. Hep G2 cells were transfected with the renin gene-choramphenicol acetyl transferase constructs together with a combination of c-fos, c-jun, and/or jun-B expression vectors. Left ventricular hypertrophy, an adaptive process in chronic hypertension, is an independent risk factor for coronary heart disease and sudden death. The evidence suggests that both mechanical and humoral factors participate in the development of hypertrophy.
