Fate of Renin Cells During Development and Disease.

Although renin cells are crucial for blood pressure homeostasis, little is known about their nature. We now know that renin cells are precursors that appear early and in multiple tissues during embryonic development. They participate in morphogenetic events, vascular development and injury, tissue repair and regeneration. When confronted to a homeostatic threat, renin cell descendants have the capability to switch the renin gene on or off. This poorly understood switch or molecular memory enables the organism to maintain constancy of the internal milieu and tissue perfussion. Here, we discuss briefly the major events that govern the acquisition and maintenace of renin cell identity and how manipulations that alter the fate of renin cells can lead to serious disease. We also advance the concept that renin cells are at the center of an ancestral sytem of defense linking the endocrine, the immune and repair responses of the organism.