Abstract
Active and inactive renins in the brain were measured in postmortem patients. 1) Trypsin-activatable inactive renin was the highest in the pineal body, followed by the pituitary, striatum, hypothalamus, midbrain, cerebellum, cerebral cortex and medulla oblongata. 2) Active renin was the highest in the pineal body, followed by the pituitary, hypothalamus, cerebral cortex, midbrain, cerebellum, medulla oblongata and striatum. These results show widely but specifically localized renin in the brain. The observed high amount of active renin in the hypothalamus, which has been recognized as an important region for control of autonomic nervous system, may be linked to modulation of the system through locally generated angiotensin II.
