Table of Contents

It is well-known that the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) participates in the regulation of blood pressure (BP) through the binding of Ang II to the AT1 receptor, other multiple factors of this and additional systems interact together to maintain the BP in physiologic conditions. The imbalance between these factors will lead to alterations of BP. Therefore, instead of studying isolated factors controlling BP, it is indicated to investigate the equilibrium or interaction between factors with opposite effects. This book considers the spatial pattern of aminopeptidase activities in normotensive and spontaneously hypertensive rats, the variations in activity in the brain and in plasma after unilateral lesions and the consequences of those lesions on nitric oxide concentration and blood pressure level. The importance of the central/peripheral asymmetries is discussed in a bilateral perspective. (Imprint: Nova)