Angiotensin peptide research overlooked.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to C M Ferrario.
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We previously showed that angiotensin (Ang) II activates phospholipase D (PLD) through AT1 receptors in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) isolated from Sprague-Dawley rats [Freeman and Tallant, Biochem J. 304:543-548, (1994)]. In the present study, we compared activation of PLD by angiotensin peptides in VSMC from spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and their normotensive controls, Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats. Ang II caused a dose-dependent increase in PLD activity in VSMC from both rat strains. However, the response to Ang II in VSMC from hypertensive rats was approximately three times higher than that observed in VSMC from normotensive controls. Furthermore, Ang II-induced activation of PLD in VSMC from hypertensive rats was significant within 1 min, whereas significant increases in PLD activity in cells from normotensive rats were not seen until 10 min after exposure to Ang II. Ang-(2-8) caused a similar increase in PLD activity which was three times higher in SHR VSMC than in WKY controls. In contrast, Ang-(1-7) did not affect PLD activity in either smooth muscle cell population. The Ang II-mediated increases in PLD activity in VMSC from both rat strains were completely blocked by AT1 receptor antagonists (EXP 3174 or L-158,809). Conversely, the AT2 receptor antagonist PD 123177 (1 mumol/L) was ineffective. Thus Ang II stimulation of PLD in VSMC derived from both the hypertensive and normotensive rat aorta and the accumulation of its metabolites (e.g., phosphatidic acid and diacylglycerol) is coupled to activation of AT1 receptors predominantly and occurs in response to Ang II or Ang-(2-8) but not Ang-(1-7). Moreover, activation of PLD by angiotensins in VMSC from the SHR is significantly more robust than that observed in VSMC from the normotensive WKY rat. We conclude that increased activation of PLD by Ang II in genetically-induced hypertension may reflect an additional mechanism linking enhanced contractile responses to enhanced growth.
In the nonfailing heart, normovolemic hemodilution increases cardiac output and decreases total peripheral resistance (TPR). Putative mechanisms mediating the decrease in TPR include reflex vasodilation and changes in the local regulation of blood flow. Our objectives were to determine whether ablation of reflex neural mechanisms or the inhibition of nitric oxide (NO) synthase, the enzyme responsible for the synthesis of the endothelium-derived relaxing factor (EDRF-NO), modulates the systemic vasodilator response to normovolemic hemodilution. Three groups of male Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to acute normovolemic hemodilution, which was achieved by exchanging a volume of blood equivalent to 3.8% of body weight with hydroxyethyl starch. Hemodilution increased cardiac output and decreased TPR. Subsequent administration of the NO synthase inhibitor, L-nitroarginine (LNA), returned both cardiac output and TPR to control values. Pretreatment with LNA prior to hemodilution increased TPR, an effect that was partially reversed by the NO donor, sodium nitroprusside. In this setting, hemodilution failed to decrease TPR. After spinal cord destruction by "pithing," hemodilution decreased TPR to the same extent as that observed in intact rats. This hemodilution-induced decrease in TPR was abolished by the subsequent administration of LNA. These results indicate that neural reflexes do not modulate the systemic vascular response to hemodilution. Moreover, the systemic vasodilator response to hemodilution is abolished after inhibition of endogenous NO synthesis.
Observations that angiotensin-(1-7) [ANG-(1-7)] may oppose the vasoconstrictor actions of angiotensin II (ANG II) prompted an investigation of the effects of the heptapeptide on the maintenance of elevated blood pressure in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). ANG-(1-7) (24 micrograms.kg-1.h-1) was infused into the jugular vein of 13-wk-old SHR (n = 64), Wistar-Kyoto (WKY, n = 50), and Sprague-Dawley (SD, n = 18) rats for 2 wk, with the use of osmotic minipumps. Blood pressure, fluid and electrolyte balance, plasma vasopressin, and urinary excretion of prostaglandin E2 and 6-ketoprostaglandin F1 alpha (6-keto-PGF1 alpha) were measured at days 2, 7, and 12 of the infusion. In SHR, ANG-(1-7) caused a sustained and significant reduction in plasma vasopressin concentration that was associated with an increase in urinary prostaglandin E2 and 6-keto-PGF1 alpha excretion at day 2 after the commencement of the infusion. These changes were accompanied by diuresis and natriuresis during the first 3 days of infusion in SHR but not in WKY or SD rats. Direct measurements of arterial pressure confirmed the lowering effect of ANG-(1-7) on systolic pressure of SHR on day 2 of treatment with a restoration of the pressure by days 7 and 12. These findings, along with our previous demonstration that ANG-(1-7) is an active depressor peptide in the intact animal, suggest that ANG-(1-7) may play a significant role as a vasodepressor system opposing the hemodynamic actions of ANG II in this genetic form of experimental hypertension.
New studies suggest that vasodilator systems may play an important role in restraining the rise in peripheral vascular resistance associated with the evolution of arterial hypertension. We characterized in conscious dogs the hemodynamic and hormonal effects of 4 weeks of feeding either the nitric oxide synthase inhibitor N omega-nitro-L-arginine (3 mg.kg-1.d-1) or the nitric oxide precursor L-arginine (0.3 mg.kg-1.d-1) during the evolution of two-kidney, one clip hypertension. Inhibition of nitric oxide production elicited a form of hypertension more severe than that produced in placebo-fed two-kidney, one clip dogs. The higher levels of blood pressure were accompanied by lower levels of plasma renin activity and lower angiotensin II concentrations. During the chronic phase of renovascular hypertension, the fall in blood pressure produced by acute systemic injections of lisinopril or losartan was significantly reduced in dogs given the nitric oxide inhibitor. In contrast, chronic administration of L-arginine had no effect on the magnitude of hypertension or on the increases in renin activity and hyperangiotensinemia associated with the evolution of renal hypertension. Likewise, the fall in blood pressure produced by pharmacological blockade of angiotensin II was not different from that recorded in untreated renal hypertensive dogs. The vasodilator component of the blood pressure response due to intravenous injections of angiotensin-(1-7) (1 to 100 nmol/kg) was augmented in both untreated and L-arginine-treated two-kidney, one clip hypertensive dogs, but was significantly attenuated in hypertensive dogs fed the nitric oxide synthase inhibitor.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Lack of specific antagonists to the amino-terminal heptapeptide angiotensin-(1-7) [Ang-(1-7)] prompted us to evaluate the central effects of delivering a specific affinity-purified Ang-(1-7) antibody on the blood pressure and heart rate of 12-week-old conscious homozygous female rats (n = 12) expressing the mouse submandibular Ren-2d gene [(mRen-2d)27] in their genome. Another group of transgenic hypertensive and strain-matched Sprague-Dawley controls were injected with a specific Ang II monoclonal antibody (KAA8). Cerebroventricular administration of the affinity-purified Ang-(1-7) antibody in conscious transgenic hypertensive rats caused significant dose-related elevations in blood pressure associated with tachycardia. The hypertensive response was augmented in transgenic rats studied 7 to 10 days after cessation of lisinopril therapy. Neutralization of Ang II with the Ang II antibody caused a hemodynamic response opposite to that obtained with the Ang-(1-7) antibody. All doses of the Ang II antibody produced hypotension and bradycardia. The magnitude of the depressor response was significantly augmented in transgenic rats weaned off lisinopril therapy. In contrast, central administration of either the Ang-(1-7) or Ang II antibodies had no effect on normotensive rats. Central injections of an affinity-purified IgG fraction were ineffective in both control and transgene-positive rats. These data suggest that in the brain of transgenic hypertensive rats, Ang-(1-7) opposes the action of Ang II on the central mechanism or mechanisms that contribute to the maintenance of this model of hypertension.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
We have suggested that angiotensin-(1-7) [Ang-(1-7)] may oppose the pressor activity of angiotensin II (Ang II). This hypothesis was supported by the fact that long-term intravenous infusion of Ang-(1-7) transiently lowers blood pressure in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). We now investigated whether the pressor sensitivity to bolus injections of either phenylephrine (PE) or Ang II was altered on day 12 of an Ang-(1-7) infusion when blood pressure in the SHR had returned to hypertensive levels. SHR (n = 10) and WKY rats (n = 8) were given Ang-(1-7) intravenously via osmotic minipumps at a dose of 24 micrograms/kg per hour for 2 weeks. On day 12 of the infusion, mean arterial pressure and heart rate in halothane-anesthetized rats were similar in Ang-(1-7)-treated SHR (142 +/- 6 mm Hg; 388 +/- 9 beats per minute) and those infused with vehicle (146 +/- 5 mm Hg; 392 +/- 13 beats per minute). Pressor responsiveness to PE in Ang-(1-7)-treated SHR was 22% less at a dose of 10 micrograms, while pressor responses to Ang II decreased by 20% and 25% at doses of 0.05 and 0.1 micrograms, respectively, compared with the vehicle-treated SHR (P < .05). There were no effects of the Ang-(1-7) infusion on pressor responses to Ang II or PE in WKY rats.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
The preoptic region of hypothalamus was disconnected from caudal structures with two different-size knife cuts in rats to investigate the pathway responsible for the effects of intracerebroventricular (ICV) and intravenous (IV) angiotensin II (ang II) on blood pressure and arginine vasopressin (AVP) release. Seven days after surgery ICV ang II (125 ng) in sham-operated (sham) rats increased mean arterial pressure (MAP) (+23 +/- 3 mmHg) and decreased heart rate (HR) (-58 +/- 5 beats/minute). However, ICV ang II had no effect on MAP or HR of rats with a large (preoptic-hypothalamic disconnection) cut. Both the pressor response (+12 +/- 2 mmHg) and the bradycardia (-39 +/- 6 beats/minute) were significantly reduced by a small (medial preoptic-hypothalamic disconnection) cut. The increased plasma AVP to ICV ang II in sham rats (9.8 +/- 3.6 pg/mL) was abolished in large-cut rats and attenuated in small-cut rats (3.2 +/- 0.7 pg/mL). IV bolus injection of ang II (125 ng) in sham rats increased MAP by 43 mmHg, whereas large-cut rats showed a blunted (25%) pressor response. The pressor response to IV infusion of ang II (8 ng/20 microL/minute for 15 minutes) was diminished in large-cut rats (+4 +/- 1 mmHg) as compared with that in sham rats (+19 +/- 2 mmHg). Both cuts transected the projection between the periventricular tissue surrounding the anteroventral third ventricle and supraoptic nucleus, but the supraoptic-neurohypophyseal pathway was severed only by the large cut.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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We investigated the effect of losartan, a nonpeptide angiotensin II (Ang II)-type 1 (AT1) receptor antagonist, on the responses evoked by Ang II and L-glutamate (L-Glu) in the rostral ventrolateral medulla (RVLM). Adult spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats were anesthetized with halothane and artificially ventilated. Responses of mean arterial pressure (MAP), heart rate (HR) and splanchnic sympathetic nerve activity (SNA) to microinjection of Ang II (100 pmol) or L-Glu (2 nmol) into the RVLM were examined following microinjection of losartan (10 pmol-10 nmol). Ang II increased MAP (16 +/- 1 mmHg in SHR and 16 +/- 1 mmHg in WKY) and SNA (9 +/- 1% and 10 +/- 1%, respectively), which were significantly (P < 0.01) attenuated by pretreatment with losartan (100 pmol-10 nmol) in both strains. In addition, the pressor and sympathoexcitatory responses evoked by L-Glu were attenuated by losartan in a dose-dependent manner. The increases of MAP evoked by L-Glu (53 +/- 6 mmHg in SHR and 39 +/- 3 mmHg in WKY) were suppressed to 5 +/- 3 mmHg (P < 0.01) and 4 +/- 2 mmHg (P < 0.01), respectively, in the presence of 10 nmol of losartan. The increase of SNA was also markedly inhibited by higher doses of losartan.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
We determined the levels of angiotensin I (ANG I), angiotensin II (ANG II), and the heptapeptide angiotensin(1-7) [ANG(1-7)] in the blood and brain of female Hannover Sprague-Dawley (SD) and transgenic hypertensive rats [mRen-2]27 by radioimmunoassay and high performance liquid chromatography. Hypertension was accompanied by higher plasma concentrations of ANG II, no statistical changes in ANG(1-7), and no differences in plasma ANG I levels. In the hypothalamus of transgenic rats, concentrations of ANG II and ANG(1-7) averaged 827% and 168% above values in SD rats (p < 0.005) whereas both ANG I and ANG II increased in the medulla oblongata. The data showed that the established phase of hypertension in rats harboring the mouse Ren-2 gene is associated with overexpression of the renin-angiotensin system in brain regions participating in the endocrine regulation of blood pressure.
Selective antagonists were used to determine the presence of angiotensin II (Ang II) receptor subtypes (AT1 and AT2) in normal human renal cortex and renal cell carcinoma. Normal and tumor tissues were obtained from fresh radical nephrectomy specimens in 7 patients. All patients had a patent renal artery, and the mean preoperative serum creatinine level was 1.1 mg./dl. Tissues were snap frozen and sectioned (14 microns.) for in vitro autoradiography, then incubated in 125I-Ang II (0.3 nM.), with or without unlabeled Ang II or subtype selective antagonists (1 nM. to 1 microM.), rinsed, air dried and apposed to SB-5 X-ray film for 3 to 21 days. In normal renal tissue, low densities of diffuse 125I-Ang II binding sites were observed in cortical areas containing tubules. Higher densities of binding sites occurred over glomeruli and large cortical vessels. Specific binding ranged between 60 and 90% depending on the area as determined by displacement with excess unlabeled Ang II. Specific binding in large cortical vessels was displaced by the two AT2 selective antagonists PD123177 (1 microM.) or CGP 42112A (0.01 microM.), whereas these antagonists were less effective competitors for 125I-Ang II binding in glomeruli. In contrast, the AT1 selective antagonists, DuP 753 and L-158,809 (0.1 and .01 microM., respectively), were potent competitors for glomerular, but not extraglomerular, cortical vessel binding. In the normal cortical tubulointerstitium, both AT1 and AT2 antagonists caused partial displacement of specific binding (55 +/- 12% AT1, 39 +/- 12% AT2). Low density 125I-Ang II binding was present in all tumors. Specific binding averaged 59 +/- 10% as defined by displacement with unlabeled Ang II (1 microM.). As in the normal tubulointerstitial area, each of the selective antagonists produced partial displacement of the specific binding (60 +/- 12% AT1, 31 +/- 8% AT2). In conclusion, AT1 receptors predominate in glomeruli, while AT2 binding sites predominate in large preglomerular vessels of the human renal cortex. In the normal tubulointerstitium and renal cell carcinoma, a 60%/40% mixture of AT1 to AT2 receptors exists. These findings provide a pharmacologic framework for the differential effects of Ang II receptor-mediated function in the human kidney.
Transgenic rats carrying the mouse Ren-2 gene (Ren-2d)27 provide a unique model to study the interplay between the renin-angiotensin system and estrogen in the pathogenesis of hypertension. In this study we measured the effects of ovariectomy and estrogen replacement on blood pressure and the contribution of vascular endothelium relaxing factor, nitric oxide, in female transgenic hypertensive rats and normotensive Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats. Both groups of animals were either ovariectomized or sham-operated at 12 weeks of age. Ovariectomized rats were treated with either 17 beta-estradiol (70 micrograms/day) or placebo for 4 weeks, whereas sham-operated rats received placebo alone. Mean arterial blood pressure measured in conscious rats directly by an arterial catheter was significantly higher in ovariectomized rats, compared with ovariectomized rats given estrogen replacement therapy for both transgenic (167 +/- 5 v 154 +/- 4 mm Hg, P < .05) and SD rats (125 +/- 4 v 113 +/- 5 mm Hg, P < .05). The contribution of endothelium-derived nitric oxide to the maintenance of blood pressure was examined by acute systemic injection of NG-monomethyl-L-arginine (L-NMMA, 10 mg/kg). L-NMMA caused a significantly greater increase in blood pressure in sham-operated transgenic as compared to SD rats (34 +/- 3 v 14 +/- 3 mm Hg, P < .05). The response in ovariectomized transgenic rats was markedly reduced (13 +/- 3 mm Hg), reaching levels that were no different from sham-operated SD rats.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
The therapeutic benefits of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors in the treatment of hypertension, congestive heart failure, and atherosclerotic heart disease are undeniable. Recent studies, however, suggest that the cardioprotective effect produced by these drugs is complex and may not be solely related to inhibition of the generation of angiotensin II. An alternative pathway for the generation of angiotensin II from angiotensin I has been proposed, following the recent identification of a chymotrypsin-like protease (chymase) that may contribute to the formation of angiotensin II in human heart tissue. The enzyme is present in cardiac mast cells and displays unusual substrate specificity for the conversion of angiotensin I to angiotensin II. While biochemical studies have provided convincing evidence for a chymase-dependent production of angiotensin II, the contribution of this enzyme to the physiologic or pathological regulation of arterial pressure and cardiac function remains undetermined.
Transgenic (TG) rats carrying the mouse Ren-2 gene (Ren-2d)27 are a newly established monogenetic model in hypertension research. To gain an insight into the mechanisms of this form of hypertension we determined the effects of a 13-day therapy with losartan (10 mg/kg) or lisinopril (20 mg/kg) on the blood pressure (BP) and plasma levels of angiotensin (ANG) peptides of mature female TG hypertensive and Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats. The contribution of endothelium-derived nitric oxide (NO) to the maintenance of their hypertension and the response to therapy was evaluated by systemic injection of either NG-monomethyl-L-arginine (L-NMMA) or endothelin-1. Hypertension in TG rats was associated with decreased plasma ANG I, no differences in plasma ANG II, and plasma ANG-(1-7) near the detectable level. Lisinopril lowered BP more than losartan in both TG hypertensive and normotensive controls. In both strains, the chronic fall in BP produced by lisinopril was accompanied by significant increases in plasma ANG I and ANG-(1-7), while losartan augmented plasma ANG I and ANG II in both strains and plasma ANG-(1-7) in TG rats. Inhibition of NO synthase reversed the fall in BP produced by either lisinopril or losartan in SD controls. In contrast, administration of L-NMMA to TG rats given the same therapy did not. The transient endothelium-mediated relaxing phase of the depressor response to systemic injections of endothelin-1 was attenuated by losartan and lisinopril in TG rats. These studies indicate that hypertension in female TG rats is mediated by the RAS.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
The transgenic (TG) rat carrying the mouse renin gene (mRen-2d) has provided a unique opportunity to explore central interactions between the brain renin-angiotensin (RAS) and vasopressin (AVP) systems. To evaluate the hypothalamic vasopressin axis in the TG rat, we measured the central nervous system concentrations of AVP and determined the effect of angiotensin II (ANG II) and its NH2-terminal heptapeptide [angiotensin-(1-7)] on blood pressure, heart rate, and AVP release using brain microdialysis. Intracerebroventricular infusion of ANG II or ANG-(1-7) in control rats increased local AVP release from the paraventricular and supraoptic nuclei. The ANG II infusion was associated with a significant increase in blood pressure not observed with ANG-(1-7). In contrast, the angiotensin peptide-induced central AVP responses and the ANG II-induced blood pressure increase were absent in the TG animal. The plasma AVP responses to ANG II and ANG-(1-7) were comparable in the control and TG rats. The TG rats exhibited a 22-fold higher level of AVP in the dorsal lower brain stem but had lower AVP levels in the posterior pituitary and the median eminence compared with control rats. These results suggest that insertion of the mouse renin gene into the rat genome leads to alterations in the AVP axis in terms of AVP peptide content and angiotensin-induced cardiovascular and AVP responses.
The discovery of angiotensin-(1-7) [Ang-(1-7)] as a bioactive Ang II fragment of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) alters the current understanding of the enzymatic components that comprise the RAS cascade. Two neutral endopeptidases, prolyl endopeptidase (E.C. 3.4.21.26) and neutral endopeptidase 24.11 (E.C. 3.4.24.11), are capable of forming Ang-(1-7) from Ang I and have been implicated in the in vivo processing of Ang I. This makes them putative Ang processing enzymes and part of the RAS cascade. This review summarizes the physical characteristics and distribution of angiotensin converting enzyme (E.C. 3.4.15.1), a known Ang I processing enzyme, and compares its features to what is known of prolyl endopeptidase and neutral endopeptidase 24.11.
We have shown previously that many neurons in the caudal medial nucleus tractus solitarii (nTS) are excited by angiotensin (Ang) II. The selective Ang II receptor antagonists losartan (AT1; DuP 753) and CGP 42112A or PD 123177 (AT2) were used to evaluate the receptor subtype that mediates excitation of medial nTS neurons by Ang II (1 microM) in rat medulla in vitro slices. Neither losartan nor the AT2 antagonists altered the baseline firing of either Ang II-sensitive or Ang II-unresponsive neurons. However, in six cells with low-frequency spontaneous activity that remained above baseline after excitation by Ang II, subsequent administration of losartan reversed the firing pattern to the initial low-frequency activity. Losartan (10 microM) blocked the excitation by Ang II in 29 medial nTS neurons. The Ang II-induced excitation recovered from Type I blockade in 1 h. In contrast, both CGP 42112A (10 and 100 microM, n = 12) and PD 123177 (100 microM, n = 7) failed to block excitation by Ang II in all neurons tested. Furthermore, the AT2 antagonists were ineffective in preventing Ang II-induced neuronal excitation both when they were the first antagonist tested and when they were evaluated after the neuron had recovered from AT1 receptor blockade. These studies suggest that the Ang II-induced excitation of caudal medial nTS neurons is mediated by AT1 Ang II receptors.