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World J Psychiatr. Sep 19, 2021; 11(9): 581-588
Published online Sep 19, 2021. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v11.i9.581
The renin-angiotensin system, mood, and suicide: Are there associations?
Marsal Sanches, Antonio Lucio Teixeira
Marsal Sanches, UT Center of Excellence on Mood Disorders, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX 77054, United States
Antonio Lucio Teixeira, UT Health Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX 77054, United States
Author contributions: Sanches M and Teixeira AL equally contributed to the writing and revision of the manuscript; all authors have read and approve the final manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Marsal Sanches, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, UT Center of Excellence on Mood Disorders, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, 1541 East Road, Houston, TX 77054, United States. marsal.sanches@uth.tmc.edu
Received: March 9, 2021
Peer-review started: March 9, 2021
First decision: May 13, 2021
Revised: June 29, 2021
Accepted: August 3, 2021
Article in press: August 3, 2021
Published online: September 19, 2021
Processing time: 189 Days and 10.8 Hours
Abstract

Available evidence points to a possible role of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) in the pathophysiology of mood disorders and suicide. We carried out a critical analysis of literature data regarding this role, with a focus on the proposed association between RAS dysfunction and suicidal behavior. Epidemiological, genetic, and biochemical findings are described, and the pathophysiological hypothesis aiming at explaining the possible relationship between RAS and suicide are discussed. Available findings do support the involvement of the RAS in the neurobiology of suicide, although the exact mechanisms underlying this involvement are still unknown.

Keywords: Renin-angiotensin system; Suicide; Mood disorders; Depression; Bipolar disorder

Core Tip: This is a minireview on the proposed role of renin-angiotensin system dysfunctions in the pathophysiology of suicide.