Saralasin Explained

Saralasin is a competitive angiotensin II receptor antagonist with partial agonistic activity. The aminopeptide sequence for saralasin differs from angiotensin II at three sites:

• At position 1, sarcosine replaces aspartic acid, thereby increasing the affinity for vascular smooth muscle AT II receptors and making sara resistant to degradation by aminopeptidases.^[1]
• At position 5, isoleucine is replaced by valine
• At position 8, phenylalanine is replaced by alanine which leads to a smaller stimulatory effect. Saralasin was used to distinguish renovascular hypertension from essential hypertension before its discontinuation in January 1984 because of many false-positive and false-negative reports.^[2]

External links

• • Olsson M, Annerbrink K, Hedner J, Eriksson E . Intracerebroventricular administration of the angiotensin II receptor antagonist saralasin reduces respiratory rate and tidal volume variability in freely moving Wistar rats. . Psychoneuroendocrinology . 29 . 1 . 107–12 . 2004 . 14575733 . 10.1016/S0306-4530(02)00147-6. 44451942 .
• Ip S, Tsang S, Wong T, Che C, Leung P . Saralasin, a nonspecific angiotensin II receptor antagonist, attenuates oxidative stress and tissue injury in cerulein-induced acute pancreatitis. . Pancreas . 26 . 3 . 224–9 . 2003 . 12657946 . 10.1097/00006676-200304000-00003. 28646144 .
• Tsang S, Ip S, Wong T, Che C, Leung P . Differential effects of saralasin and ramiprilat, the inhibitors of renin-angiotensin system, on cerulein-induced acute pancreatitis. . Regul Pept . 111 . 1–3 . 47–53 . 2003 . 12609748 . 10.1016/S0167-0115(02)00226-4. 2150707 .

Notes and References

1. Pals et al (1979)
2. Hutchison and Shahan (2004)