Conformational fingerprinting of angiotensin-converting enzyme in the blood in health and disease

Abstract

The binding pattern of the set of 16 monoclonal antibodies to the different epitopes on the surface of two domains of angiotensin-converting enzyme, i.e., conformational fingerprinting, allows to reveal in blood the presence of an enzyme that is not produced by lung endothelial cells, but rather by other cells, e.g., Gaucher’s cells and sarcoid granuloma cells. The existence of angiotensin-converting enzyme with changed conformation in the blood of patients with uremia has been shown; this enzyme was characterized by enhanced activity towards angiotensin I and decreased ability to be inhibited by specific inhibitors. The prospects of discovering conformationally changed enzyme in blood of patients with atrial fibrillation have also been discussed.