Could Intracrine Biology Play a Role in the Pathogenesis of Transmissable Spongiform Encephalopathies Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Neurodegenerative Diseases?

A Reassessment of the Pathophysiology of Progressive Cardiorenal Disorders

Heart failure and chronic renal diseases are usually progressive and only partially amenable to therapy. These disorders can be the sequelae of hypertension or worsened by hypertension. They are associated with the tissue up-regulation of multiple peptides, many of which are capable of acting within the cell interior. This article proposes that these peptides, intracrines, can form self-sustaining regulatory loops that can spread through heart or kidney, producing progressive disease. Moreover, mineralocorticoid activation seems capable of amplifying some of these peptide networks. This view suggests an expanded explanation of the pathogenesis of progressive cardiorenal disease and suggests new approaches to treatment.

Studies of intracellular angiotensin II

Many extracellular signaling proteins act within their cells of synthesis and/or in target cells after internalization. This type of action is called intracrine and it plays a role in diverse biological processes. The mechanisms of intracrine intracellular action are becoming clear thanks to the application of modern techniques of molecular biology. Here, progress in this area is reviewed. In particular the intracrine biology of angiotensin II is discussed.

A possible mechanism for the progression of chronic renal disease and congestive heart failure

Chronic neurologic diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, as well as various forms of chronic renal disease and systolic congestive heart failure, are among the most common progressive degenerative disorders encountered in medicine. Each disease follows a nearly relentless course, albeit at varying rates, driven by progressive cell dysfunction and drop-out. The neurologic diseases are characterized by the progressive spread of disease-causing proteins (prion-like proteins) from cell to cell. Recent evidence indicates that cell autonomous renin angiotensin systems operate in heart and kidney, and it is known that functional intracrine proteins can also spread between cells. This then suggests that certain progressive degenerative cardiovascular disorders such as forms of chronic renal insufficiency and systolic congestive heart failure result from dysfunctional renin angiotensin system intracrine action spreading in kidney or myocardium.