The Control of Aldosterone Secretion in Nephrectomized Man

1974 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 235-248 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. J. Goodwin ◽  
V. H. T. James ◽  
W. S. Peart

1. The adrenal response to a reduction in extracellular fluid volume (ECFV), sodium depletion, intravenous adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) and angiotensin II was assessed from changes in plasma aldosterone and plasma cortisol in eleven nephrectomized patients. Five patients were also studied before nephrectomy and six after successful renal transplantation. 2. Before nephrectomy, the resting concentrations of plasma aldosterone were usually raised. In the three patients out of five tested, the response to intravenous ACTH was marked. In two out of four patients, there was a good response to angiotensin II infusion. In one of two patients, there was a good response to a reduction in ECFV and sodium depletion. 3. After nephrectomy, the resting concentrations of plasma aldosterone were negligible or uniformly reduced and the response to ECFV reduction, sodium depletion, ACTH and angiotensin II was universally poor. 4. In all cases there was a normal plasma cortisol response to ACTH. 5. After renal transplantation in six patients, the four to whom an infusion of angiotensin II was given showed a return to a normal aldosterone response and all six showed a normal response to ACTH. 6. No clear correlation was shown between resting concentrations of plasma aldosterone and plasma potassium after nephrectomy. 7. It was concluded that the kidney, through the renin-angiotensin system, may play its main part by sensitizing the zona glomerulosa to other stimuli, but an alternative kidney-dependent mechanism cannot be excluded.

1982 ◽  
Vol 62 (4) ◽  
pp. 373-380 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. G. Nicholls ◽  
M. Tree ◽  
J. H. Livesey ◽  
R. Fraser ◽  
J. J. Morton ◽  
...  

1. Potassium was infused intravenously in an incremental fashion and the plasma aldosterone responses were measured in conscious beagle dogs at five different intakes of dietary sodium. 2. Potassium/aldosterone dose—response curves were constructed for each dietary sodium regimen. 3. The rate of increase of plasma potassium during graded potassium infusion became progressively greater with increasing sodium depletion. 4. Regression lines of plasma aldosterone on plasma potassium were progressively elevated and steepened with increasing sodium depletion. 5. The alteration of these dose-response curves could in part have been the result of chronic elevation of plasma potassium and angiotensin II, and depression of plasma sodium, with sodium deprivation. 6. By contrast, acute changes in plasma angiotensin II or sodium concentrations across incremental infusions of potassium did not explain the progressive changes in the potassium/aldosterone dose—response curves. 7. The steepest part of the plasma aldosterone response curve was in the plasma potassium range 4–6 mmol/l. 8. Maximum achieved aldosterone levels were similar to or greater than those attained during angiotensin II infusion in previous studies in beagle dogs. 9. Potassium, like angiotensin II and adrenocorticotropic hormone, becomes a more effective stimulus to aldosterone with sodium depletion, thereby facilitating the preservation of sodium homoeostasis.


1989 ◽  
Vol 121 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryoji Iwasaki ◽  
Toshikazu Kigoshi ◽  
Kenzo Uchida ◽  
Shinpei Morimoto

Abstract. To examine the nature of adrenal abnormalities in diabetic patients with hyporeninemic and normoreninemic hypoaldosteronism, responses of plasma 18-hydroxycorticosterone and plasma aldosterone to angiotensin II infusions and ACTH injection were investigated in 8 diabetic patients with hyporeninemic hypoaldosteronism and 9 diabetic patients with normoreninemic hypoaldosteronism compared to 11 control subjects. In both the patients with hyporeninemic and normoreninemic hypoaldosteronism, plasma 18-hydroxycorticosterone and plasma aldosterone were low, whereas plasma cortisol and plasma corticosterone were within normal ranges. Percent increments of plasma 18-hydroxycorticosterone and plasma aldosterone above their baseline levels after angiotensin II infusions were low or somewhat low in the patients with hyporeninemic hypoaldosteronism and low in the patients with normoreninemic hypoaldosteronism. Percent increments of plasma 18-hydroxycorticosterone and plasma aldosterone above their baseline levels after ACTH injection were similar in the three groups. These results suggest that in diabetic patients with isolated hypoaldosteronism, the adrenal abnormality, regardless of whether it is primary or secondary, is mainly due to impaired adrenal responsiveness to angiotensin II and atrophy of the zona glomerulosa.


1984 ◽  
Vol 247 (3) ◽  
pp. E336-E342
Author(s):  
T. Eguchi ◽  
E. L. Bravo

The mechanism(s) by which intracerebroventricularly administered angiotensin II (ANG II) regulates aldosterone production was investigated in dogs with chronically implanted cannula into a lateral cerebroventricle. In salt-replete and salt-depleted dogs, artificial cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) with or without ANG II (1, 10, 100 ng X kg-1 X min-1) was infused intracerebroventricularly for 2 h under pentobarbital anesthesia. Artificial CSF produced no significant humoral changes. Intracerebroventricular ANG II decreased plasma renin activity and increased both ACTH and plasma cortisol in both groups but decreased plasma aldosterone (PA) only in salt-depleted dogs. Dexamethasone pretreatment during intracerebroventricular ANG II decreased PA further in salt-replete but not in salt-depleted dogs. Moreover, the fall in PA during intracerebroventricular ANG II in salt-depleted dogs was prevented when intravenous infusion of ANG II (10 ng X kg-1 X min-1) was given simultaneously to maintain circulating ANG II levels. We conclude that PA response to intracerebroventricular ANG II is mediated primarily through the renin-angiotensin system in the salt-depleted state; however, in the salt-replete state, ACTH assumes a more important role.


1990 ◽  
Vol 258 (4) ◽  
pp. R1008-R1015
Author(s):  
P. E. Ray ◽  
E. Castren ◽  
E. J. Ruley ◽  
J. M. Saavedra

We studied the effects of selective chronic sodium or chloride depletion (0.005% in diet) on central and peripheral angiotensin II receptors in young rats. Chloride depletion produced the most significant increase in plasma renin activity and extracellular fluid volume contraction. In the brain, subfornical organ angiotensin II receptor concentration was decreased by sodium depletion and increased by chloride depletion. There were no significant changes in angiotensin II binding in the paraventricular nucleus. When sodium-depleted rats were water deprived for 3 days, subfornical organ angiotensin II receptor concentration increased, showing that normal sodium intake was not essential for increased numbers of angiotensin II receptors during dehydration. In the adrenal gland, chloride depletion decreased angiotensin II receptors in the medulla and zona glomerulosa. Conversely, sodium depletion increased angiotensin II receptors in the zona glomerulosa. In the kidney glomeruli and medulla, angiotensin II receptors were decreased by either sodium or chloride depletion. These results suggest different roles for sodium and chloride in the regulation of the peripheral and central renin-angiotensin system in young rats.


1983 ◽  
Vol 104 (1) ◽  
pp. 103-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wolfgang Belmega ◽  
Wolfgang Oelkers ◽  
Lutz Belkien ◽  
Monika Shirpai ◽  
Ulrich Fiedler ◽  
...  

Abstract. Isolated adrenocortical cells from 6 patients with a 'normal' zona fasciculata, 4 patients with a 'normal' zona glomerulosa, and tumour cells from 1 adrenocortical adenoma and 1 carcinoma were incubated with and without increasing concentrations of ACTH 1–24 (10−13 m to 10−9 m) or Asp1-Ile5-angiotensin II (10−11 m to 10−7 m). In 4/5 'normal' cases, cortisol was clearly stimulated by 10−13 m ACTH. The maximum of the dose-response curve (5-fold stimulation) was reached at 10−10 m ACTH. Angiotensin II (All) started to stimulate 'normal' cells at 10−11 m with a maximum (2-fold stimulation) at 10−9 m. Aldosterone production by 'normal' cells was less markedly stimulated by ACTH and All, although the threshold doses for both peptides were similar to those of the cortisol response curves. The cells of the adrenocortical adenoma from a patient with Cushing's syndrome produced large amounts of cortisol and small amounts of aldosterone, both steroids being clearly stimulated by ACTH and AII. The adrenocortical carcinoma cells produced small amounts of cortisol and no aldosterone. Cortisol production responded to ACTH, but not to AII. The results suggest that an activated renin-angiotensin system may stimulate the zona fasciculata, since 10−11 m All (= 10 pg AII/ml) is a normal plasma All concentration on an unrestricted diet. Clinical evidence supporting this thesis is reviewed. However, cortisol production itself will rarely be increased by All in vivo, since a downregulation of ACTH would occur.


1971 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 183-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. I. S. Robertson ◽  
R. J. Weir ◽  
G. O. Düsterdieck ◽  
R. Fraser ◽  
M. Tree

Aldosterone secretion is frequently, although not invariably, increased above the normal non-pregnant range in normal pregnancy. Substantial increases in plasma aldosterone concentration have also been demonstrated as early as the sixteenth week. In pregnancy, aldosterone secretion rate responds in the usual way to changes in sodium intake. Plasma renin concentration is frequently, but not invariably, raised above the normal non-pregnant range. Plasma renin-substrate is consistently raised in pregnancy. Plasma angiotensin II has also been shown usually to be raised in a series of pregnant women. A significant positive correlation has been shown between the maternal plasma aldosterone concentration and the product of the concurrent plasma renin and renin-substrate concentrations. This suggests that the increased plasma aldosterone in pregnancy is the consequence of an increase in circulating angiotensin II, which in turn is related to the level of both renin and its substrate in maternal blood. For these reasons, estimations of renin activity in pregnancy are of dubious value. The increased renin, angiotensin and aldosterone concentrations may represent a tendency to maternal sodium depletion, probably mainly a consequence of the increased glomerular filtration rate. It is possible that the nausea and other symptoms of early pregnancy may be a consequence of this tendency to sodium depletion, with its attendant hormonal changes. In ‘pre-eclampsia’, renin and aldosterone values are generally slightly lower than in normal pregnancy. Human chorion can apparently synthesize renin independently of the kidney. The physiological significance of this remains at present obscure, but it seems unlikely that this source contributes much, if at all, to the often elevated maternal plasma renin. Plasma renin, renin-activity and angiotensin II concentrations, and aldosterone secretion are increased in the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle.


1985 ◽  
Vol 248 (5) ◽  
pp. R541-R548
Author(s):  
B. S. Huang ◽  
R. L. Malvin ◽  
R. J. Grekin

The effects of intracerebroventricular (IVT) infusion of angiotensin II (ANG II), the converting enzyme inhibitor SQ 20881, and dopamine were studied in 15 conscious Na-depleted sheep. IVT ANG II (25 ng/min) significantly increased plasma aldosterone (163 +/- 24%) and vasopressin (ADH) (533 +/- 100%). Plasma renin activity (PRA) was decreased to 64 +/- 10% of basal. IVT SQ (1 microgram/min) decreased aldosterone to 70 +/- 10% and ADH to 55 +/- 9% of basal. PRA increased to 124 +/- 10%. There were no significant changes in plasma Na, K, or cortisol levels nor in mean arterial or intracranial pressure after either infusion. Increasing the dose of SQ to 10 micrograms/min resulted in an increased magnitude of change in the same variables. IVT SQ (1 microgram/min) significantly decreased aldosterone level in five nephrectomized sheep. The responses to IVT dopamine (20 micrograms/min) were qualitatively similar to those elicited by IVT SQ. These data support the existence of an endogenous brain renin-angiotensin system (RAS) independent of the renal RAS. ANG II acts centrally to regulate plasma ADH, aldosterone, and PRA levels. The similarity of the responses to SQ and dopamine suggests that a dopaminergic pathway may be involved in these responses.


1975 ◽  
Vol 80 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helmut Armbruster ◽  
Wilhelm Vetter ◽  
Rainer Beckerhoff ◽  
Jürg Nussberger ◽  
Hans Vetter ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT In order to investigate the role of renin secretion and of ACTH on the circadian rhythm of plasma aldosterone (PA), plasma renin activity (PRA), plasma cortisol (PC) and PA were determined at short-time intervals in 10 normal supine men. Six subjects were studied under a normal sodium intake and 4 under sodium restriction. In 4 subjects the secretion of ACTH was suppressed by dexamethasone. Under normal sodium intake changes in PA seemed to be more in parallel with changes in PC than by those in PRA as indicated by a higher significant correlation between PA and PC than between PA and PRA in 3 of the 4 subjects. In 1 subject no correlation was observed between PA and PC despite visual synchronism between the plasma concentrations of both hormones. Under dexamethasone medication fluctuations in PA were followed by those in PRA while PC was less than 2 μg/100 ml. In the sodium restricted state, changes in PA were closely paralleled and significantly correlated to PRA while no correlation was seen between PA and PC. Under dexamethasone medication the significant correlation between PA and PRA persisted. Our results indicate that in normal supine man the influence of ACTH and renin on PA may vary with different sodium intakes. Under normal sodium intake ACTH seems to be the dominant factor controlling PA, whereas under sodium restriction changes in PA are mediated through the renin angiotensin system. When the secretion of ACTH is suppressed by dexamethasone, renin controls PA both under normal and low sodium intake.


1990 ◽  
Vol 122 (3) ◽  
pp. 369-373 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroyuki Sasamura ◽  
Hiromichi Suzuki ◽  
Ryuichi Kato ◽  
Takao Saruta

Abstract Angiotensin II, ACTH and potassium chloride were administered to rats for 6 days and the effects on adrenal renin-like activity and adrenal angiotensin II/III immunoreactivity were investigated. Rats infused with angiotensin II(140 pmol/min) either ip or sc showed increases in adrenal angiotensin II/III immunoreactivity (p<0.05) and plasma aldosterone concentration (p<0.05), but no change in adrenal renin-like activity. Captopril treatment of angiotensin Il-infused rats caused a slight decrease in angiotensin II/III immunoreactivity which did not reach statistical significance. In contrast, rats treated with ACTH (Cortrosyn-Z, 3 IU/day, sc) showed an increase in adrenal renin-like activity (p<0.01), but no significant change in adrenal angiotensin II/III immunoreactivity. Rats treated with KCl in drinking water showed increases (p<0.05) in adrenal renin-like activity, adrenal angiotensin II/III immunoreactivity, and plasma aldosterone. These results suggest that angiotensin II, ACTH and potassium, three major regulators of aldosterone secretion by the adrenal gland, have different effects on the adrenal renin-angiotensin system when administered in vivo.


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