angiotensin II

noun

-ˈtü 

: a protein with vasoconstrictive activity that increases blood pressure, stimulates the release of aldosterone, is composed of a chain of eight amino acid residues, and is the physiologically active form of angiotensin

Angiotensin II can cause vasoconstriction, aldosterone biosynthesis, prostaglandin formation or angiogenesis.

—Nicola Glorioso et al., Science

Captopril, the first approved member of this new class of antihypertensive agents, acts by inhibiting the conversion of angiotensin I to angiotensin II.

—Scientific American Medicine