Development and application of a biological peptide pump for the study of the in vivo actions of angiotensin peptides.

In the past few years, a great deal of interest has been focused on the possibility that angiotensin peptides could have direct effects on target tissues independent of their hemodynamic effects. In addition, there has been much speculation on the potential biological roles of angiotensin peptides other than angiotensin II. Unfortunately, a direct test of these possibilities in whole animals has been difficult due to limitations in existing biological systems. In this review, we describe the characteristics of an engineered protein capable of directing the production of a wide variety of peptides to specific tissues and cell types in transgenic animals and discuss its potential applications.