Methods for serial study of renin-angiotensin system in the unanesthetized rat

1975 ◽  
Vol 228 (2) ◽  
pp. 369-375 ◽  
Author(s):  
JS Carvalho ◽  
R Shapiro ◽  
P Hopper ◽  
LB Page

Micromethods for measurement of plasma renin concentration (PRC) and plasma renin-substrate concentration (PSC) have been developed for rat plasma with radioimmunoassay of angiotensin I. An improved technique for aortic implantation of plastic cannulas was developed for use in experiments 1-2 wk in duration. The effects on components of renin system of anesthesia and tail cutting were studied. Arterial blood was sampled through cannulas without animal manipulation. PRC varied little in unanesthetized rats, was moderately and variably increased during pentobarbital anesthesia, and was markedly and consistently elevated during ether anesthesia. PSC was unchanged during anesthesia. PRC was increased in blood obtained by tail cutting within 1-2 min after cutting. With the use of the methods and techniques described here serial studies of the renin system in plasma of unanesthetized rats are shown to be feasible. A role for the sympathetic nervous system in the mediation of renin secretion by ether is proposed.

2016 ◽  
Vol 311 (6) ◽  
pp. F1211-F1216 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryousuke Satou ◽  
Hiroyuki Kobori ◽  
Akemi Katsurada ◽  
Kayoko Miyata ◽  
L. Gabriel Navar

The pleiotropic actions of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) depend on the availability of angiotensinogen (AGT) which generates angiotensin I (ANG I) when cleaved by renin. Thus, quantification of the intact AGT (iAGT) concentrations is important to evaluate the actual renin substrate available. The iAGT conformation exists as oxidized AGT (oxi-AGT) and reduced AGT (red-AGT) in a disulfide bond, and oxi-AGT has a higher affinity for renin, which may exacerbate RAS-associated diseases. Accordingly, we determined iAGT, oxi-AGT, and red-AGT levels in plasma from rats and mice. Blood samples were obtained by cardiac puncture and then immediately mixed with an inhibitor solution containing a renin inhibitor. Total AGT (tAGT) levels were measured by tAGT ELISA which detects both cleaved and iAGT. iAGT levels were determined by iAGT ELISA which was found to only detect red-AGT. Thus, it was necessary to treat samples with dithiothreitol, a reducing agent, to quantify total iAGT concentration. tAGT levels in rat and mouse plasma were 1,839 ± 139 and 1,082 ± 77 ng/ml, respectively. iAGT levels were 53% of tAGT in rat plasma but only 22% in mouse plasma, probably reflecting the greater plasma renin activity in mice. The ratios of oxi-AGT and red-AGT were ∼4:1 (rat) and 16:1 (mouse). Plasma iAGT consists of oxi-AGT and red-AGT, suggesting that oxidative stress can influence ANG I generation by the AGT conformation switch. Furthermore, the lower availability of plasma iAGT in mice suggests that it may serve as a limiting factor in ANG I formation in this species.


1980 ◽  
Vol 238 (5) ◽  
pp. R432-R437 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. B. Wallace ◽  
J. B. Hook ◽  
M. D. Bailie

The purpose of this investigation was to correlate the development of the various enzyme activities associated with the renin-angiotensin system with age-related differences in the steady-state concentrations of angiotensin I (AI) and II (AII). Angiotensin was quantified by radioimmunoassay. Plasma renin activity and concentration increased between birth and 3 wk of age, and declined thereafter to adult values. Renal renin content, on the other hand, increased throughout the first 6 wk of postnatal life. The concentration of AII in plasma also increased following birth; however, maximum concentrations were not attained until 5 wk of age. In contrast, plasma AI did not increase between 3 and 6 wk of age. These data suggest that the steady-state concentration of AII in neonatal rat plasma may be partially limited by the low plasma renin substrate concentration. The increase in AII between 3 and 6 wk of age may reflect the increasing converting enzyme activity.


1971 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
PAMELA A. SIMPSON ◽  
J. R. BLAIR-WEST

SUMMARY A renin—angiotensin system was shown to be present in several marsupial species in plasma and homogenates of the renal cortex. Species studied were: Eastern Grey kangaroo (Macropus giganteus), Red kangaroo (Megaleia rufa), common wombat (Vombatus hirsutus), pademelon (Thylogale billardierii), Bennett's wallaby (Wallabia rufogrisea frutica), a quokka (Setonix brachyurus) and a tiger cat (Dasyurus maculatus). Renin-substrate was found in the plasma of the Eastern Grey kangaroo, the Red kangaroo and the wombat. Renin was shown to be present in the plasma of all species by incubation alone or with heterologous marsupial renin-substrate. Plasma renin concentration and renal renin content were estimated by an established method using standard sheep renin-substrate. Plasma renin concentration was high, suggesting that marsupial renins have a high affinity for sheep substrate; renal renin estimates were low relative to eutherian species, suggesting that renal storage may be small. Plasma renin concentration and renal renin levels were proportionately related. Renin levels were consistently lowest in the wombat. Bilateral nephrectomy of an Eastern Grey kangaroo reduced plasma renin concentration to zero and increased renin-substrate concentration eightfold. The angiotensin-like incubation product from Eastern Grey kangaroo renin-substrate did not cross react with antibodies to [5-Ile]-angiotensin I, suggesting that the product has a different sequence of amino acids.


1975 ◽  
Vol 228 (2) ◽  
pp. 613-617 ◽  
Author(s):  
LR Krakoff ◽  
R Selvadurai ◽  
E Sutter

The effect of methylprednisolone or deoxycorticosterone upon systemic arterial blood pressure and components of the renin-angiotensin system was studied in the rat. Rats maintained on regular diets given methylprednisolone suspension 20 mg/kg body wt demonstrated a significant increase in arterial pressure of + 37 plus or minus 5 mmHg, mean plus or minus SE, over a 2-wk period, whereas those treated with DOC and untreated controls showed no significant change. On normal diets, plasma renin concentration (PRC) of methylprednisolone-treated rats was significantly higher than that of DOC-treated rats. Methylprednisolone treatment also resulted in a significant elevation of plasma renin substrate concentration (PRS). Calculated plasma renin activity (PRA) was highest in methylprednisolone-treated rats, significantly above that of the DOC and no-steroid groups. NaCl supplementation resulted in a significant fall in PRC and PRA in all three groups; however, PRS remained significantly above normal in the methylprednisolone-treated rats. The pressor effect of angiotensin II was slightly increased in methylprednisolone-treated rats. Infusion of [Sar1,Ala8]angiotensin II (P-113) in methylprednisolone-treated rats resulted in a significant fall in diastolic arterial pressure. The results imply that methylprednisolone hypertension in the rat may be in part angiotensin dependent.


1995 ◽  
Vol 268 (6) ◽  
pp. H2267-H2273 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Zanchi ◽  
N. C. Schaad ◽  
M. C. Osterheld ◽  
E. Grouzmann ◽  
J. Nussberger ◽  
...  

This study was designed to assess the role of renin and of the sympathoadrenal system in the maintenance of the hypertension induced by chronic nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibition in rats kept on a normal (RS) or a low-sodium (LS) diet. With the administration of NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) in drinking water (0.4 milligrams) for 6 wk, mean intra-arterial blood pressure rose to a similar extent to 201 mmHg in the RS and 184 mmHg in the LS animals. Simultaneously, plasma norepinephrine was increased to 838 and 527 pg/ml and epinephrine to 2,041 and 1,341 pg/ml in RS and LS, respectively. Plasma neuropeptide Y levels did not change. Plasma renin activity rose to 21 ng.ml-1.h-1 in RS but remained at 44 ng.ml-1.h-1 in the LS. Both losartan (10 mg/kg) and phentolamine (0.1 mg/kg) intravenous bolus injections reduced blood pressure considerably in the L-NAME hypertensive animals. Whole brain NOS activity was reduced by 84%. Hypertension induced by chronic NOS inhibition in LS as well as in RS fed rats seems to be sustained by an interaction of several mechanisms, including the activation of the sympathetic nervous system and the renin-angiotensin system.


1991 ◽  
Vol 69 (9) ◽  
pp. 1381-1384 ◽  
Author(s):  
Knud Poulsen ◽  
Arne Høj Nielsen ◽  
Arne Johannessen

In a new method for measurement of inactive rat plasma renin, the trypsin generated angiotensin I immunoreactive material, which was HPLC characterized as similar to tetradecapeptide renin substrate, is removed by a cation exchange resin before the renin incubation step. The method also corrects for trypsin destruction of endogenous angiotensinogen by the addition of exogenous angiotensinogen. When measured with this method inactive renin in rat plasma decreased after nephrectomy and increased after adrenalectomy. This is in accordance with findings in humans. A sexual dimorphism of prorenin (inactive renin) in rat plasma, similar to that reported in humans and mice, was demonstrated. Thus, inactive renin in the rat is no exception among species, and the rat might be a suitable animal model for further studies dealing with the physiology of prorenin in plasma and tissues.Key words: angiotensinogen, inactive renin, renin.


1988 ◽  
Vol 255 (1) ◽  
pp. R67-R72 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. M. Rawashdeh ◽  
N. D. Ray ◽  
D. K. Sundberg ◽  
J. C. Rose

We studied norepinephrine (NE) and plasma renin activity (PRA) responses to sodium nitroprusside (NP)-induced hypotension in seven chronically catheterized fetal lambs 0.79-0.94 gestation (mature) and in seven fetuses 0.64-0.72 gestation (immature) 4 or 5 days after surgery. We infused intravenously 5% dextrose in water (DW) or NP in DW to reduce arterial pressure 30% in fetuses for 10 min. Initial infusion choice was random, and the two infusions were separated by 24-48 h. In both groups, basal NE levels were similar and doubled in response to hypotension. In mature fetuses, PRA basal levels were 6.89 +/- 1.80 ng.ml-1.h-1 and increased two- to threefold with hypotension. In immature fetuses, PRA basal levels were 2.42 +/- 0.86 ng.ml-1.h-1 and did not change with hypotension. No changes were observed with DW infusion in either group. Arterial blood gases were normal and remained unchanged. We conclude that in the lamb fetus, NE responses to hypotension are present before and are independent of the development of PRA responses and that before 0.72 gestation there is a functional deficit in the renin-angiotensin system.


1984 ◽  
Vol 105 (4) ◽  
pp. 505-510 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Jiménez ◽  
M. Montiel ◽  
J. A. Narváez ◽  
M. Morell

Abstract. Kinetic studies of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) were carried out by measuring plasma renin activity (PRA), plasma renin concentration (PRC) and plasma renin substrate (PRS). Changes in this system were studied during hypothyroidism, after administration of propylthiouracil (PTU), and in thyroidectomized rats. A significant decrease in PRA and PRC was observed in those animals previously treated with PTU. However, a significant increase in PRC, and a decrease in PRS, were found in T animals, but no changes in PRA were observed. In these animals, after daily administration of potassium iodide for I week (T+KI), no changes in RAS were observed in comparison with T rats. Nevertheless, administration of daily doses of triiodo-ithyronine (T+T3) induced a significant increase in PRA, leaving PRC unaltered. In this case the changes in PRA were related to the increase in PRS after T3 treatment. These results suggest that two different mechanisms were involved in renin release, one activated in T rats and the other in pharmacological hypothyroidism.


1990 ◽  
Vol 127 (3) ◽  
pp. 513-521 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. M. Brameld ◽  
F. Broughton Pipkin ◽  
E. M. Symonds

ABSTRACT The renal and genital tracts share a common embryological origin; it is thus not surprising that tissues from both can synthesize renin. Preliminary studies showed extremely high concentrations of renin in follicular fluid (FRC) following ovarian stimulation for in-vitro fertilization. This necessitated complete revalidation of the renin assays and showed that data obtained using commercial kits were invalid. An assay protocol was developed using a 1:2 dilution of follicular fluid taken into EDTA (0·3 mol/l) and o-phenanthroline (0·05 mol/l). The assay was performed at pH 7·5 in the presence of excess exogenous (sheep) renin substrate, with incubation periods of 5, 10 and 15 min at 37 °C. This protocol resulted in the linear generation of angiotensin I (AI). Activation of inactive renin was performed using eightfold more trypsin than was required for plasma samples. Follicular renin substrate concentrations (FRS) were measured using the same assay methodology as used for measurement of plasma renin substrate concentrations (PRS). Storage of samples at −18 °C for up to 2 months was found not to affect the FRC, although repeated freeze-thaw cycles did. FRC and plasma renin concentrations (PRC) were very similar in 25 unstimulated control women, studied in the follicular phase of the menstrual cycle. Trypsin activation increased follicular total renin concentration (FTRC) more than plasma total renin concentration (PTRC) (P< 0·0001). FRS was slightly higher than PRS (P<0·02). Ovarian stimulation with clomiphene citrate (CC; six women) was without effect on these parameters. However, hyperstimulation with CC, human menopausal gonadotrophins (hMG) and human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) resulted in substantial increments in FRC and FTRC (P< 0·0001 for both) and somewhat smaller rises in PRC and PTRC (P<0·05; P < 0·0005). There was also a small rise in PRS (P< 0·0002), but no change in FRS. Treatment with buserelin, hMG and hCG was associated with similarly large increases in renin concentrations, and also increases in both FRS and PRS (P< 0·003; P<0·007) in comparison with samples from women stimulated with CC, hMG and hCG. Increased plasma renin activity has previously been reported in stimulated ovarian follicular fluid. Our data show clearly that this is primarily due to a rise in FRC and FTRC and not to a rise in FRS. The use of the anti-oestrogen CC alone for ovarian stimulation was without effect on the follicular renin-angiotensin system. Thus we suggest that it is the gonadotrophins themselves which stimulate renin production, presumably by the theca cells. The much smaller rise in PRC and PTRC may reflect the effects of an overspill into the systemic circulation or, less likely, effects of the gonadotrophins on renal renin production. There is no evidence for this latter suggestion. FRS was increased only slightly by ovarian stimulation and must be presumed to be rate-limiting in the generation of AI. Journal of Endocrinology (1990) 127, 513–521


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Burns ◽  
Matthew Cheng ◽  
Todd Lee ◽  
Allison McGeer ◽  
David Sweet ◽  
...  

Abstract SARS-CoV-2 enters cells by binding to angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), and COVID-19 infection may therefore induce changes in the renin-angiotensin system (RAS). To determine the effects of COVID-19 on plasma RAS components, we measured plasma ACE, ACE2, and angiotensins I, (1-7), and II in 46 adults with COVID-19 at hospital admission and on days 2, 4, 7 and 14, compared to 50 blood donors (controls). We compared survivors vs. non-survivors, males vs. females, ventilated vs. not ventilated, and angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor-exposed vs. not exposed. At admission, COVID-19 patients had higher plasma levels of ACE (p=0.012), ACE2 (p=0.001) and angiotensin-(1-7) (p<0.001) than controls. Plasma ACE and ACE2 remained elevated for 14 days in COVID-19 patients, while plasma angiotensin-(1-7) decreased after 7 days. In adjusted analyses, plasma ACE was higher in males vs. females (p=0.042), and plasma angiotensin I was significantly lower in ventilated vs. non-ventilated patients (p=0.001). In summary, plasma ACE and ACE2 are increased for at least 14 days in patients with COVID-19 infection. Angiotensin-(1-7) levels are also elevated, but decline after 7 days. The results indicate dysregulation of the RAS with COVID-19, with increased circulating ACE2 throughout the course of infection.Clinical Trial Registration: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ Unique Identifier: NCT04510623


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