Cardiovascular Activities of of the bradykinin system

All the components of the kallikrein-kinin system are located in the cardiac muscle and its deficiency may lead to cardiac dysfunction. In recent years, numerous observations obtained from clinical and experimental models of diabetes, hypertension, cardiac failure, ischemia, myocardial infarction, and left ventricular hypertrophy have suggested that the reduced activity of the local kallikrein-kinin system may be instrumental for the induction of cardiovascular-related diseases. The cardioprotective property of the angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors is primarily mediated via a kinin-releasing pathway, which may cause regression of the left ventricular hypertrophy in hypertensive situations. The ability of kallikrein gene delivery to produce a wide spectrum of beneficial effects makes it a promising candidate in treating hypertension and cardiovascular and renal diseases. In addition, stable kinin agonists may also be available in the future as therapeutic agents for cardiovascular and renal disorders. However, there are also possibilities of adverse effects that may be caused by these compounds.