This gene encodes renin, an aspartic protease that is secreted by the kidneys. Renin is a part of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system involved in regulation of blood pressure, and electrolyte balance. This enzyme catalyzes the first step in the activation pathway of angiotensinogen by cleaving angiotensinogen to form angiotensin I, which is then converted to angiotensin II by angiotensin I converting enzyme. This cascade can result in aldosterone release, narrowing of blood vessels, and increase in blood pressure as angiotension II is a vasoconstrictive peptide. Transcript variants that encode different protein isoforms and that arise from alternative splicing and the use of alternative promoters have been described, but their full-length nature has not been determined. Mutations in this gene have been shown to cause hyperuricemic nephropathy familial juvenile 2, familial hyperproreninemia, and renal tubular dysgenesis.