Pablo Nakagawa, PhD

Identification of Functional Renin in the Brain

The existence of renin in the central nervous system has been a topic of debate for over 5 decades. Using state-of-the-art approaches, we have demonstrated that renin is not only expressed but is also physiologically relevant. Importantly, renin is mainly expressed in cholinergic neurons, and thus, it is likely that the local renin-angiotensin system in the brain might participate in the regulation of the parasympathetic nervous system.

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Assistant Professor of Physiology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI