Assessment of angiotensin I metabolism in the human placenta using an LC/MS method.

The local renin-angiotensin system (RAS) in the placenta plays a very important role in placental development. It is well known that during normal pregnancy most of the circulating and local RAS components are over-expressed and any disruption of this new balance may cause pregnancy complications. The aim of this study was to assess the metabolism of Ang I in placentas from normal pregnancy, in an ex vivo model, using an LC/MS method. The obtained results suggest that placental tissue is able to produce many angiotensin peptides but the main metabolite is Ang-(1-7).