Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

The Role Of Angiotensinogen In Atherosclerosis And Obesity, Congqing Wu

Theses and Dissertations--Nutritional Sciences

Angiotensinogen is the only known precursor in the renin-angiotensin system, a hormonal system best known as an essential regulator of blood pressure and fluid homeostasis. Angiotensinogen is sequentially cleaved by renin and angiotensin- converting enzyme to generate angiotensin II. As the major effector peptide, angiotensin II mainly function through angiotensin type 1 receptor.

Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, angiotensin receptor blockers, and more recently renin inhibitors are widely known as the 3 classic renin-angiotensin system inhibitory drugs against hypertension and atherosclerosis. Here, we developed an array of regents to explore the effects of angiotensinogen inhibition. First, we demonstrated that genetic deficiency of …

Impact Of Positive And Negative Health Behaviors On Female Mice And/Or Their Offspring, Kristen M. Platt

Theses and Dissertations--Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences

Obesity is an ever-growing concern in the developed world that carries with it a plethora of health issues. For example, obesity increases an individual’s risk for Type 2 Diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Pregnancy is a vital time for a woman to maintain optimal health, both for her own benefit as well as that of her offspring, and yet almost half of women in the United States who are of age to bear children are overweight or obese. In mice, we found that offspring born to dams fed a high fat diet did not have impaired glucose tolerance, contrary to our …