ANGPT1 and diabetic kidney disease: 2000). ACE 2 cleaves ANG II into ANG (1‐7) and its downregulation leads to excessive ANG II accumulation that causes albuminuria and glomerular damage in diabetic nephropathy (Ye et al. 2006). ANG (1‐7) is a biologically active heptapeptide found in several tissues, including kidney, and in serum, which may act as a negative feedback hormone to the actions of ANG II (Rice et al. 2004; Shaltout et al. 2007). ANG (1‐7) interacts with G‐protein‐coupled membrane receptor MAS which is found in renal tissues (Santos et al. 2003; Alenina et al. 2008; Zimpelmann and Burns 2009).