Impact of the Renin-Angiotensin System on the Pathogeny and Pharmacotherapeutics of Neurodegenerative Diseases

• Published in: Biomolecules (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 12; no. 10; p. 1429
• Main Authors: Bild, Walther, Vasincu, Alexandru, Rusu, Răzvan-Nicolae, Ababei, Daniela-Carmen, Stana, Aurelian Bogdan, Stanciu, Gabriela Dumitrița, Savu, Bogdan, Bild, Veronica
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 01-10-2022; MDPI
• Subjects: Aldosterone; Alzheimer's disease; Alzheimer’s; Angiotensin; angiotensin (1–7); Apoptosis; Autocrine signalling; Blood pressure; Brain; brain RAS; Central nervous system; Cognitive ability; Degeneration; Endoplasmic reticulum; Enzymes; Evaluation; Homeostasis; Humans; Huntington's disease; Huntingtons disease; Huntington’s; Inflammation; Memory; Motor neuron diseases; Movement disorders; Multiple sclerosis; Nervous system; neurodegenerative; Neurodegenerative diseases; Neurodegenerative Diseases - drug therapy; Oxidants; Paracrine signalling; Parkinson's disease; Pathophysiology; Peptides; Proteins; Reactive Oxygen Species; Renin; Renin-angiotensin system; Renin-Angiotensin System - physiology; Review; Signal transduction; Sodium; Water - pharmacology; Romania; angiotensin (1–7); brain RAS; multiple sclerosis; renin; neurodegenerative; Huntington’s; Alzheimer’s
• ISSN: 2218-273X; 2218-273X
• DOI: 10.3390/biom12101429

Brain neurodegenerative diseases (BND) are debilitating conditions that are especially characteristic of a certain period of life and considered major threats to human health. Current treatments are limited, meaning that there is a challenge in developing new options that can efficiently tackle the different components and pathophysiological processes of these conditions. The renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAS) is an endocrine axis with important peripheral physiological functions such as blood pressure and cardiovascular homeostasis, as well as water and sodium balance and systemic vascular resistance-functions which are well-documented. However, recent work has highlighted the paracrine and autocrine functions of RAS in different tissues, including the central nervous system (CNS). It is known that RAS hyperactivation has pro-inflammatory and pro-oxidant effects, thus suggesting that its pharmacological modulation could be used in the management of these conditions. The present paper underlines the involvement of RAS and its components in the pathophysiology of BNDs such as Parkinson's disease (PD), Alzheimer's disease (AD), multiple sclerosis (MS), Huntington's disease (HD), motor neuron disease (MND), and prion disease (PRD), as well as the identification of drugs and pharmacologically active substances that act upon RAS, which could alleviate their symptomatology or evolution, and thus, contribute to novel therapeutic approaches.