It is well established that renin-angiotensin system (RAS) is the major regulatory networkthat maintains blood pressure, fluid and electrolyte balance and the homeostasis of cardiovascular system.Most studies in the last decades centered on the pivotal members of RAS, that is, angiotensinⅡ (AngⅡ) and angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE). Recent identification of ACE-2, the homology of ACE,and the identification of the multiple products degraded from angiotensinⅠ, including AngⅢ, AngⅣ,Ang1 -9, Ang1 -7, Des-Asp-angiotensinⅠ(DAAⅠ), etc, have proved that AngⅡ is not the only bio-logical active compound of RAS. Peptides derived from angiotensinogen,that is, family of angiotensins,display independent and pleiotropic biological activitiesin vivo, and interact with each other both in me-tabolism pathway and the biologic effects. The imbalance of the network of angiotensin metabolites exhib-its significant pathophysiological role in cardiovascular disease.
