Angiotensin II exerts a wide range of actions on the heart, blood vessels, adrenals, kidneys, and nervous system and plays a major role in blood pressure maintenance and volume homeostasis. Its effects are mediated mainly by plasma membrane receptors. Efforts to elucidate the nature and distribution of these receptors have involved intensive research on the part of pharmacologists, molecular biologists, and clinicians, and to avoid confusion it is therefore important that a uniform nomenclature be adopted by all disciplines concerned. The International Union of Pharmacology (IUPHAR) Nomenclature Subcommittee for Angiotensin Receptors met in Oxnard, Calif, in February 1994. At this meeting, scientists working in the field were invited to exchange views on new issues relating to angiotensin receptor subtypes, their functions, and appropriate amendments to the nomenclature proposed in 1991. 1 The committee has not yet been able to put forward a definitive recommendation in this fast-moving area, but the simple and workable guidelines suggested in this article reflect the opinion of many specialists. Comments from the scientific community are welcome to help in formulating a proposal that could be endorsed by the IUPHAR.

To avoid any ambiguity, it is recommended that Ang should be used as the standard abbreviation for the hormone angiotensin, in conformity with a previous report 2 from the Joint Nomenclature and Standardization Committee of the International Society of Hypertension, American Heart Association, and the World Health Organization published in the Journal of Hypertension in 1987. The abbreviation AT is misleading. The amino acid sequence of human [Ile 5] angiotensin-(1-10) decapeptide (Ang I) serves as reference for all angiotensin peptides, and the numbering of the amino acids follows that of human Ang I. Fragments of angiotensin and analogues are defined in the same manner as those of human Ang I, eg, Ang-(3-8)(now called Ang IV), with the sequence Val-Tyr-Ile-His-Pro-Phe.