Abstract
There are several neuropeptides, present in nerves supplying the rat adrenal zona glomerulosa, which have been shown to stimulate aldosterone secretion in the intact perfused rat adrenal preparation. The purpose of the present study was twofold: first, to determine whether these peptides acted directly on adrenocortical cells by examining their effects on collagenase-dispersed rat zona glomerulosa cells, and second, to investigate the likely physiological significance of these actions, by determining whether the responses of zona glomerulosa cells to neuropeptides were changed by prior sodium depletion.
Of the peptides tested, neuropeptide Y (NPY) and substance P had only a minor effect on aldosterone secretion, which was not substantially affected by sodium depletion. Corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH) had a significant stimulatory effect on aldosterone secretion, but neither the threshold concentration for significant stimulation nor the maximal response to stimulation were altered by prior sodium depletion.
Vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), on the other hand, had little effect on aldosterone secretion by cells from normal animals, but was a potent stimulus to aldosterone secretion in cells obtained from sodium-depleted animals. The response to the Met-enkephalin analogue, [d-Ala2-Met2]-enkephalinamide (DALA), was also significantly enhanced by prior sodium depletion. Experiments using the angiotensin II receptor blocker, saralasin, were carried out to determine whether the enhanced actions of DALA and VIP seen in sodium depletion may be a result of activation of angiotensin II receptors, known to be increased in sodium depletion. Saralasin did not affect the response to either peptide.
These data suggest that all the peptides tested may be able to stimulate aldosterone secretion. However, the data obtained with substance P, NPY and CRH do not support a major role for these peptides in the regulation of aldosterone secretion either under control conditions, or in sodium depletion. The finding that the responses to VIP and DALA were altered by sodium depletion suggests that the actions of VIP and opioid peptides may have physiological significance in the regulation of aldosterone secretion in response to sodium depletion. Furthermore, the observation that saralasin does not inhibit the responses to these peptides strongly suggests that they are not acting through angiotensin II receptors, and may indicate altered VIP- and opioid-receptor regulation in sodium depletion.
Journal of Endocrinology (1995) 146, 209–214
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