The kallikrein‐kinin system in circulatory and metabolic homeostasis

Abstract

This review focuses on how the kallikrein-kinin system may influence circulatory and metabolic homeostasis through its interrelationship with the renin-angiotensin system and the prostaglandins. Biochemical and physiological aspects of each of these systems are described. Recent findings suggest that the kinins may play a role in the physiological processes of healthy individuals as well as in disease states. The major influence of kinins, both in tissue and plasma, on renal function and blood pressure homeostasis may be through their effect on prostaglandin synthesis rather than their effect on angiotensin II formation. Kinins also may play a rule in metabolism since these oligopeptides were found to influence glucose uptake in the gut and in skeletal and cardiac muscle in normal and pathological conditions. The effects of these chemical mediators on renal function are presented in terms of their anatomical location, as well as the biochemical and physiological associations between these chemical mediators.