| Summary: | Objective The aim of the present study was to investigate whether angiotensin II (Ang II), angiotensin III (Ang III) or Ang II (2-8), angiotensin IV (Ang IV) or Ang II (3-8) and Ang II (1-7), Ang II (4-8), Ang II (5-8) and Ang II (1-4) can stimulate collagen gel contraction in cardiac fibroblasts in serum-free conditions. Methods Cardiac fibroblasts (from male adult Wistar rats) from passage 2 were cultured to confluency and added to a hydrated collagen gel in a Dulbecco's Modified Eagle's Medium, with or without foetal bovine serum, for one, two or three days. The area of the collagen gels embedded with cardiac fibroblasts was determined by a densitometric analysis. Collagen gel contraction was characterised by a decrease in the gel area. Results Ang II dose-dependently stimulated the contraction of collagen mediated by cardiac fibroblasts after one, two or three days of incubation in a serum-free medium. Telmisartan completely blocked the Ang II-induced collagen contraction by cardiac fibroblasts. PD 123319 and des-Asp 1 -Ile 8 -Ang II had no effect on the Ang II-induced collagen contraction by cardiac fibroblasts. Ang III also stimulated the contraction of collagen mediated by cardiac fibroblasts after one, two or three days of incubation in a serum-free medium. des-Asp 1 -lle 8 -Ang II and telmisartan completely blocked the Ang III-induced collagen gel contraction by cardiac fibroblasts. des-Asp 1 -Ile 8 -Ang II, however, had no effect on the Ang II-induced collagen gel contraction by cardiac fibroblasts. Ang IV and Ang II (4-8), (5-8), (1-7) and (1-4), however, had no effect on collagen gel contraction by cardiac fibroblasts. Addition of telmisartan, PD 123319 or des-Asp 1 -Ile 8 -Ang II alone did not affect collagen gel contraction by cardiac fibroblasts. Conclusion Our data demonstrate that the effects of Ang II on the collagen gel contraction by adult rat cardiac fibroblasts in serum-free conditions are Ang II type 1(AT 1 )-receptor-mediated, because they are abolished by the specific AT 1 receptor antagonist, telmisartan, and not by the AT 2 receptor antagonist PD 123319 or by the Ang III antagonist des-Asp 1 -Ile 8 -angiotensin. The Ang IIIstimulated contraction of collagen by cardiac fibroblasts is completely blocked by the Ang III receptor antagonist, des-Asp 1 -Ile 8 -angiotensin II, and by telmisartan.
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