Production and characterization of human renin antibodies prepared with synthetic immunogens

Renin is an aspartyl protease that plays a key role in regulating blood pressure. The aim of this study was to use synthetic peptides to produce antibodies able to recognize the entire human renin molecule and to inhibit its enzymatic activity. Two three-dimensional renin models were used to predict 17 putative epitopes. Then 18 peptides related to 13 potential antigenic determinants were synthesized by solid- or liquid-phase technique, and 11 were shown to be antigenic when tested by their binding to several polyclonal human renin antibodies. The peptides were injected into rabbits, and antisera tested by radio-immunoassay (RIA) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) showed that nine peptides were immunogenic. The peptide related to the flap region which lies across the renin catalytic cleft showed potentially useful characteristics. Immunoglobulin G, purified from antibodies raised against this epitope, bound labelled renin and inhibited its enzymatic activity in a dose-dependent manner. This approach constitutes the basis for the development of a synthetic antirenin vaccine able to inhibit the renin-angiotensin system specifically.