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(Hypertension. 1995;25:785-789.)
© 1995 American Heart Association, Inc.

Articles

Lead Increases Aldosterone Production by Rat Adrenal Cells

Theodore L. Goodfriend; Dennis L. Ball; Mary E. Elliott; Cedric Shackleton

From the William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital and the Departments of Pharmacology and Medicine, University of Wisconsin, Madison (T.L.G., D.L.B., M.E.E.), and the Children's Hospital Research Institute, Oakland, Calif (C.S.).

Correspondence to Dr Theodore L. Goodfriend, William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital, 2500 Overlook Terr, Madison, WI 53705.

Abstract Exposure to lead has been postulated to contribute to elevated blood pressure in humans and has been shown to raise blood pressure in animals. The mechanism of action of lead on blood pressure is unknown. We fed lead to rats in their drinking water and then examined the production of aldosterone by their adrenal cells in vitro. We also measured excretion of aldosterone and corticosterone by intact rats stimulated with corticotropin, with and without lead treatment. At a dose (273 ppm) that raised blood levels to 30 to 40 µg/dL, comparable to blood levels in exposed humans, lead induced increased aldosterone secretion in vitro and in vivo. The effect of lead was most evident when cells or animals were stimulated with aldosterone secretagogues. Experiments in vitro indicate that exposure to lead in vivo increases activity of one or more steps in the late pathway of aldosterone biosynthesis. The results suggest that the hypertensive effect of lead involves relative hyperaldosteronism and may be most evident when secretion of this hormone is stimulated.

Key Words: lead • blood pressure • aldosterone • hypertension, mineralocorticoid • corticosterone • adrenal glands

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