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Biomedical subjects

M J Fregly

Publications and source records attributed to M J Fregly.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Cold-induced hypertension. A model of mineralocorticoid-induced hypertension.

Hypertension, tachycardia and cardiac hypertrophy develop in rats exposed to mild cold (5 degrees C, 41 degrees F) for 1 to 3 weeks. Elevation of blood pressure (BP) during cold exposure is sodium dependent, although the rats still have an elevation of BP with a minimum of NaCl in their diet. Drugs that interfere with the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone (RAA) system at various levels (propranolol, clonidine, captopril, losartan and spironolactone) are able to prevent the development of cold-induced hypertension (CIH). Plasma renin activity (PRA) increases during the first 3 weeks of exposure to cold and then gradually decreases toward control level. Increased blood pressure and dipsogenic sensitivity to administration of angiotensin II (Ang II) have been demonstrated during the first 3 weeks of exposure to cold suggesting an upregulation of Ang II receptors when PRA is elevated. Additional studies have shown greater Fos-like immunoreactivity in the diencephalon of cold-exposed compared to warm-acclimated rats after 1 hr i.v. infusion of Ang II (333 ng/kg/min). Thus, most characteristics of cold-induced hypertension mimic those of hypertension induced experimentally by chronic administration of large doses of deoxycorticosterone acetate (DOCA) and salt. The results suggest that CIH is a mineralocorticoid-induced hypertension and that various levels of the RAA system contribute.

Acclimatization

Effect of chronic treatment with propranolol on the cardiovascular responses to chronic cold exposure.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether beta-adrenergic receptors are involved in the elevation of blood pressure, tachycardia, and cardiac hypertrophy in rats chronically exposed to cold (5 degrees C). Four groups of rats were used. Two groups of rats were exposed to 5 degrees C and the other 2 groups were kept at 25 degrees C. In each temperature condition, one group received regular food while the other received food to which a nonspecific beta-adrenoceptor antagonist, d,l-propranolol, was added. The blood pressure of the untreated, cold-exposed group increased significantly within 3 weeks of exposure to cold and remained elevated until the end of the experiment. Chronic treatment with d,l-propranolol decreased the rate of cold-induced elevation of blood pressure at doses of 1.0 and 1.2 g/kg of food, and produced a complete reversal of hypertension at a higher dose ( 1.5 g/kg of food). Propranolol also prevented tachycardia in cold-exposed rats. The fact that propranolol decreased the elevation of blood pressure and prevented tachycardia suggests that both beta1- and beta2-adrenoceptors are blocked in cold-exposed rats. Propranolol, however, did not affect cold-induced cardiac hypertrophy.

Adrenergic beta-Antagonists

Role of angiotensin in the dipsogenic effect of bradykinin in rats.

We have previously shown that peripheral administration of bradykinin (BK) induces water intake in rats acutely pretreated with captopril, a kininase II inhibitor. We now show that BK-induced drinking is also observed in rats treated chronically with dietary captopril, and that this is reversed by Hoe 140, a BK receptor antagonist. Both acute and chronic captopril in combination with BK caused a large increase in plasma renin activity. Fos-like immunoreactivity (Fos-in used as a marker of cellular activation) was induced by BK + captopril in regions of the brain previously associated with action of angiotensin (Ang) II, including the circumventricular organs and the magnocellular hypothalamic nuclei. However, while water intake induced by peripheral administration of Ang I was potentiated by acute administration of captopril, it was suppressed by chronic captopril treatment. Fos-IR induced in brain by Ang I was not markedly affected by either acute or chronic treatment with captopril. The simultaneous occurrence of potentiated drinking to BK and inhibited drinking to Ang I following chronic treatment with captopril suggest that different mechanisms of action are involved. In order to further examine this possibility, rats were given lesions of the anterodorsal third ventricle region. Lesions that completely abolished the water intake following administration of Ang II only partly attenuated water intake induced by BK + captopril. Further, Fos-IR induced by BK + captopril was only partly (31%) reduced in the supraoptic and paraventricular nuclei of lesioned rats compared with sham operated controls. We suggest that at least two mechanisms, one Ang-related, underlie drinking after BK+captopril.

Angiotensin I

Losartan inhibition of angiotensin-related drinking and Fos immunoreactivity in hypertensive and hypotensive contexts.

We assessed the ability of acute peripheral administration of the AT-1 receptor antagonist, losartan, to reverse both the water intake and Fos-immunoreactivity (Fos-ir) induced in rats by either peripheral or cerebroventricular (i.c.v.) administration of angiotensin (Ang) II. We compared this with endogenous generation of Ang II during either hypovolemia or hypotension. Relatively low doses of losartan blocked the dipsogenic effect of peripherally administered exogenous Ang II, but a higher dose (20 mg/kg) was needed to block the dipsogenic effect of i.c.v.-administered Ang II. Fos-ir induced by i.c.v. Ang II was attenuated in SFO and SON by 10-20 mg losartan/kg given peripherally, but Fos-ir in the MnPO and PVN was unaffected. These findings suggest that losartan has limited permeability into the brain. We used peripheral losartan to assess the contribution of Ang II to water intake and Fos-ir responses to peripheral injection of either polyethylene glycol (PEG; a colloid that produces non-hypotensive hypovolemia) or isoproterenol (hypotensive agent). Water intakes were unaffected by the higher dose of losartan given s.c. Intraperitoneal injection of EXP 3174, the active metabolite of losartan that may more readily penetrate the blood-brain barrier, inhibited isoproterenol-, but not PEG-induced water intakes. Fos-ir was induced by PEG and isoproterenol in several regions of the brain also activated by Ang II. Fos-ir was greatly attenuated in the SFO by losartan following administration of PEG, but not isoproterenol, and was either unaffected or increased in SON and PVN after either agent. These data suggest that the increased circulating Ang II following PEG or isoproterenol acts at the SFO and is more readily reversible by losartan in normotensive (PEG) than in hypotensive (isoproterenol) states. Non-Ang neural input to the SON and PVN, presumably from baroreceptors, appears to be sufficient to produce strong Fos-ir in these regions, as well as to engage drinking.

Angiotensin II

Correlative evidence of hypertension and altered cochlear microhomeostasis: electrophysiological changes in the spontaneously hypertensive rat.

The spontaneously hypertensive rat model has been used to show that hypertension is an important pathophysiological risk factor in age-related hearing loss. In the present study, compound action potential (CAP), electrochemical potential (ECP), and potassium concentration (CK+) measurements were taken from the cochlea of genetically predisposed, spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and from normotensive Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats. In the SHR model, as the duration of hypertension increased with the animal's age (from 3 to 8 months), CAP thresholds increased, ECP increased in marginal cells only, and CK+ increased in both endolymph and marginal cells. Collectively, the data suggest that ionic alternations of cellular potentials are involved in hearing changes in the hypertensive state. Ultimately, such data may assist in understanding hearing loss in individuals who are diagnosed with hypertension.

Action Potentials

Age-related decline in thirst and sodium appetite in rats related to kininase II inhibition.

Water intake was examined in young (3-5 months) and old (20-24 months) rats following peripheral administration of either angiotensin (Ang) II or captopril+bradykinin (BK). Relative to body weight, intake after Ang II showed no age-related difference, while that after captopril+BK was markedly reduced in the old rats. In other rats that were not allowed to drink after captopril+BK, the induction of Fos-like immunoreactivity (IR) was much lower in the subfornical organ, supraoptic and median preoptic nuclei of old rats compared with their young counterparts. Intake of 0.15 M NaCl during chronic dietary administration of enalapril was robust in young rats but was much reduced in old rats, as was their plasma renin activity. Thus, reduced thirst and sodium appetite are found in conjunction with kininase II (angiotensin-converting enzyme) inhibitors in aging rats, possibly because they fail to generate the high levels of circulating renin seen in young rats under these conditions.

Aging

Angiotensin-related induction of immediate early genes in rat brain.

Several studies are reviewed in which behavioral aspects of angiotensin (Ang) II on fluid intake have been compared with induction of the immediate early gene product, Fos, as a marker of neuronal activation in rat bain. Either peripheral or central administration of Ang II induced Fos along the lamina terminalis (SFO, MnPO, AV3V) and in the magnocellular neurosecretory groups (SO, PVH). A similar pattern is seen with central injection of renin. Both pharmacological and antisense oligonucleotide probe studies indicate that an AT1 receptor is involved, probably with the initial transduction in the SFO. Treatments that induce sodium appetite all induce Fos along the lamina terminalis, but usually not in the SO or PVN. Kininase II inhibitors, such as captopril, acutely potentiate drinking to Ang I, but after chronic exposure they may inhibit water intake. In contrast, the dipsogenic effect of bradykinin which is manifest in the presence of acute captopril remains unaffected by chronic administration. This suggests that the sodium appetite that appears with chronic captopril treatment may depend in part on peptides other than Ang.

Angiotensin II

Expression of Fos in rat brain in relation to sodium appetite: furosemide and cerebroventricular renin.

Two experiments were performed to investigate the relationship between the expression of sodium appetite and the appearance of Fos-like immunoreactivity (Fos-IR) in the brain of rats. In the first experiment, rats were depleted of sodium by treatment with furosemide 24 h prior to sacrifice and without access to either food or sodium solution. Some rats had access to distilled water, and others had no fluids available during the 24 h. All of the furosemide-treated rats showed Fos-IR in both the subfornical organ (SFO) and around the organum vasculosum laminae terminalis (OVLT). Rats with access to distilled water during the depletion period showed no Fos-IR in the supraoptic (SON) or paraventricular hypothalamic nuclei (PVN) and, in parallel behavioral studies, comparably-treated rats consumed only 0.3 M NaCl solution at the end of the 24 h. In rats that had no fluids during the deprivation period, only about one half showed Fos-IR in SON and PVN and, in parallel behavioral studies, comparably treated rats consumed both water and 0.3 M NaCl solution at the end of 24 h. In a second experiment, cerebroventricular administration of renin stimulated short latency intake of 0.3 M NaCl and water. The relative intakes of water and NaCl were comparable at a low dose of renin, but intake of water exceeded that of NaCl after higher doses. Renin induced Fos-IR in SFO, MnPO, peri-OVLT region, SON and PVN. Both Fos-IR and fluid intake were antagonized by administration of losartan, an angiotensin II type 1 receptor antagonist. Thus, only the circumventricular organs of the lamina terminalis showed Fos-IR during each natriorexigenic regimen in these studies. These data support the view that Ang II of both central and peripheral origin activates the SFO and/or peri-OVLT region and contributes to sodium appetite.

Animals

Centrally mediated vasodilation of the rat's tail by angiotensin II.

Acute peripheral administration of angiotensin II (AngII) to rats vasodilates the tail and reduces both metabolic rate and body temperature. To assess the role of the brain in these responses to AngII, a discrete lesion was aimed at the subfornical organ (SFO). Such lesions are known to abolish drinking and other responses to circulating AngII. A control group was sham-operated. Following recovery from surgery, dipsogenic responses to administration of AngII (150 micrograms/kg, SC) were tested. All lesioned rats failed to drink. One week later, the changes in colonic (TC) and tail skin (TSK) temperatures were measured following an identical injection of AngII. As reported before, control rats showed a substantial rise in in TSK (maximum rise 2.5 degrees C after 12 min). In contrast, the lesioned rats showed very little rise (0.3 degrees C) in TSK, significantly less than controls. The maximal drop in TC of the control group was slightly more (0.3 degrees C) than that of the lesioned group (0.2 degrees C), but the difference was not significant. The rats were, next, acutely exposed to cold (5 degrees C). Control rats showed a significantly larger decrease in TSK than lesioned rats. Lesions were verified both anatomically and using the functional metric of AngII-induced Fos-like immunoreactivity (Fos-IR). AngII induced strong Fos-IR in the SFO, median preoptic nucleus (MnPO), and in the magnocellular hypothalamic regions of control rats. The lesions ablated the anterior part of the SFO and dorsal MnPO, and greatly attenuated AngII-induced Fos-IR in the magnocellular hypothalamic regions. Thus, there appears to be central (SFO/MnPO) mediation of both the increase in TSK following administration of AngII and the decrease in TSK in the cold.

Angiotensin II

Comparison of changes in blood pressure and dipsogenic responsiveness to angiotensin II in male and female rats chronically exposed to cold.

In most forms of experimentally induced hypertension in rats, females develop a less severe form of the disease than males. The objective of the present study was to compare the two genders with respect to the development of cold-induced hypertension. The results of the study indicate that both males and females develop comparable elevations of blood pressure and at approximately the same rate. Thus, the blood pressures of both groups increased significantly within 2 weeks of exposure to cold and reached similar maximal levels by the seventh week. The dipsogenic responsiveness of both groups of cold-exposed rats to acute administration of the peptide hormone, angiotensin II (AngII), was increased to approximately the same extent above that of warm-adapted counterparts, suggesting an increase in the responsiveness to AngII in the brain. To assess this possibility, the induction of the oncogene, cFos, was studied in brain following IV infusion of AngII (333 ng/kg/min). Fos-like immunoreactivity (FLI) was greater (p < 0.01) in subfornical organ, supraoptic and paraventricular hypothalamic nuclei of both cold-exposed groups compared to warm-adapted controls. Thus, both male and female rats have similar elevations of blood pressure as well as increased dipsogenic and FLI responsiveness to administration of AngII during chronic exposure to cold.

Angiotensin II

Relationship between drinking and increase in tail skin temperature of rats treated with L-5-hydroxytryptophan.

Administration of L-5-hydroxytryptophan (25 micrograms/kg, s.c.), the immediate precursor of serotonin, to rats induces drinking and increases tail skin temperature. Decreases in both the metabolic rate (rate of oxygen consumption) and colonic temperature also occur. These responses are similar to those observed following acute administration of angiotensin II. However, both drinking and the increase in tail skin temperature are unaffected by prior administration of the non-peptide angiotensin II, AT-1 receptor antagonist, losartan potassium, but are partially attenuated by the beta-adrenoceptor antagonist, propranolol. This suggests that the responses are independent of the angiotensin AT-1 receptor but may be mediated, in part at least, by the beta-adrenoceptor. The hypothesis is presented that when either L-5-hydroxytryptophan or angiotensin II is administered to rats, they act centrally to reduce the set-point for body temperature regulation, thus resulting in the reflex activation of mechanisms that reduce body temperature, including an increase in tail skin temperature and a decrease in metabolic rate.

5-Hydroxytryptophan

Fos induced in brain of spontaneously hypertensive rats by angiotensin II and co-localization with AT-1 receptors.

The induction of Fos-like immunoreactivity (FLI) by peripheral administration of angiotensin II (Ang II) was used to determine whether central activation was greater in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) than in normotensive WKY and outbred Wistar controls. FLI was induced in the same brain regions (circumventricular organs and neurosecretory hypothalamic cell groups) in all three groups of rats, but the FLI in several of these regions was markedly less in WKY than in either SHR or Wistar. This reduced responsiveness in supraoptic and paraventricular nuclei was selective to Ang II, because the FLI induced in these nuclei by hypertonic NaCl did not differ between groups. We also report that a considerable number of cells in the SON and PVH expressing FLI to these stimuli show immunostaining with an antibody to the AT-1 Ang II receptor. These data indicate that central angiotensinergic pathways may be more sensitive in SHR than WKY, and that WKY are less sensitive than outbred Wistars.

Angiotensin I

Bradykinin-induced water intake and brain fos-like immunoreactivity in rats.

We have previously shown that peripheral injection of bradykinin in combination with the kininase II inhibitor, captopril, to rats produces a robust water intake. We now extend this observation to another kininase II inhibitor, enalapril. Water intake increases with dose of dose of bradykinin, but has an inverted U-shaped relationship with dose of kininase II inhibitor. The induced water intake is completely blocked by peripheral administration of the bradykinin antagonist, Hoe 140, and is partly attenuated by peripheral injection of an angiotensin (Ang) II receptor antagonist, losartan. Relative to captopril alone, the combination of captopril and bradykinin greatly elevated plasma renin activity, but did not reduce blood pressure. We further show that, while either bradykinin or enalapril alone induce little or no Fos-like immunoreactivity in areas of the brain related to fluid balance, their combination induces staining in many cells in the supraoptic and paraventricular magnocellular nuclei, as well as along the lamina terminalis. These data suggest that bradykinin may have a role in regulation of fluid balance, partly mediated through Ang II.

Angiotensin I

Effect of administration of angiotensin II and isoproterenol, alone and in combination, on drinking and tail skin temperature of the rat.

Both angiotensin II (AII) and the beta-adrenergic agonist isoproterenol are well known to induce drinking and increase tail skin temperature (TSK) in rats. Previous studies have shown that these two compounds have an additive, rather than interactive, dipsogenic effect when administered together. The present studies confirmed the additivity of the dipsogenic effect of the two compounds and attempted to extend these results to TSK. The results reveal that at a series of dosage combinations of AII [100 and 125 micrograms/kg, subcutaneously (SC)] and isoproterenol (ISOP) (10, 12.5, and 25 micrograms/kg, SC) administered together, the increase in TSK usually induced by each compound was canceled. This occurred at the lower doses of ISOP in combination with AII. Thus, the differences between dipsogenic and thermoregulatory effects of combined doses of AII and ISOP suggest a difference in central integration. Important differences between the thermoregulatory responses to administration of the two compounds include increases in metabolic rate and colonic temperature when ISOP is administered and decreases in both when AII is administered. It is suggested that the effect of the two compounds to cancel each other with respect to TSK is related to their opposite effects on metabolic rate.

Angiotensin II

Effect of renal denervation on elevation of blood pressure in cold-exposed rats.

The objective of this experiment was to determine whether bilateral renal denervation (RD) prevents the elevation of blood pressure and cardiac hypertrophy characteristically induced by chronic exposure to cold. Four groups (nine male rats each) were used. The kidneys of two groups were bilaterally denervated, while the remaining two groups were sham operated. Systolic blood pressures of the four groups, measured indirectly from the tail, did not differ significantly during the control period and following RD. At this time, 1 RD and 1 sham-operated group was exposed to cold (5 degrees C, 41 degrees F). The remaining RD and sham-operated groups were kept at 25 degrees C. Blood pressure of the cold-exposed, sham-operated group increased significantly during the 1st week of cold exposure (125 +/- 2 mmHg; 1 mmHg = 133.3 Pa), and rose to 139 +/- 4 mmHg by the 5th week, whereas the blood pressure of the RD group exposed to cold remained at the control level (116 +/- 2 mmHg). Both RD and sham-operated cold-exposed groups developed cardiac hypertrophy with significantly increased resting heart rates compared with controls kept at 25 degrees C. Plasma renin activities and renal norepinephrine content of kidneys of both RD groups at 7 weeks after RD were significantly less than those of sham-operated controls, confirming that renal nerves had been severed. Thus, RD prevented the elevation of blood pressure induced by chronic exposure to cold but had no significant effect on cardiac hypertrophy.

Animals

Effect of pyridoxine and tryptophan, alone and combined, on the development of deoxycorticosterone acetate-induced hypertension in rats.

Chronic dietary administration of pyridoxine HCl (300 mg/kg/day), L-tryptophan (1.26 g/kg/day), or a combination of the two can attenuate the elevation of systolic blood pressure in DOCA-salt-treated rats. With these treatments, the characteristic increase in the weight of the heart accompanying chronic administration of DOCA (786 micrograms/kg/day) was also attenuated. Thus, both tryptophan and pyridoxine possess antihypertensive properties, and the combination of the two appeared to provide greater protection than either alone. The results are consistent with the possibility that pyridoxine, an important cofactor in the metabolic pathways for tryptophan, may facilitate the conversion of tryptophan to antihypertensive compounds. Additional studies will be required to determine which of the metabolites of tryptophan possess antihypertensive properties. Pyridoxal phosphate, one of the metabolites of pyridoxine, was also administered chronically in the diet (1.0 and 2.0% by weight) to rats whose blood pressures were elevated by administration of DOCA. The results of this study suggest that pyridoxal phosphate can also lower the blood pressure of rats with established hypertension. Thus, these studies reveal that pyridoxine, pyridoxal phosphate and tryptophan are potential antihypertensive agents.

Analysis of Variance