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Published Online
on July 20, 2009

Hypertension. 2009
Published online before print July 20, 2009, doi: 10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.109.134130
A more recent version of this article appeared on September 1, 2009
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Submitted on April 13, 2009
Revised on April 27, 2009

Role of Mineralocorticoid Receptor on Experimental Cerebral Aneurysms in Rats

Yoshiteru Tada*; Keiko T. Kitazato; Tetsuya Tamura; Kenji Yagi; Kenji Shimada; Tomoya Kinouchi; Junichiro Satomi; and Shinji Nagahiro

From the Department of Neurosurgery, School of Medicine, The University of Tokushima, Tokushima City, Japan.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: yoshiteru.tada{at}hotmail.co.jp.

Abstract—Activation of the renin-angiotensin (Ang)-aldosterone system is involved in the pathology of vascular diseases. Although the blockade of the mineralocorticoid receptor protects against vascular diseases, its role in cerebral aneurysms remains to be elucidated. We treated female rats subjected to renal hypertension, increased hemodynamic stress, and estrogen deficiency for 3 months with the mineralocorticoid receptor blocker eplerenone (30 or 100 mg/kg per day) or vehicle (vehicle control). Eplerenone reduced the incidence of cerebral aneurysms and saline intake without lowering of the blood pressure. In the aneurysmal wall, the production of Ang II and nitrotyrosine was increased. The mRNA levels of Ang-converting enzyme 1 and NADPH oxidase subunits NOX4, Rac1, monocyte chemoattractant protein 1, and matrix metalloproteinase 9 were increased. Eplerenone brought about a reduction in these molecules, suggesting that mineralocorticoid receptor blockade suppresses cerebral aneurysm formation by inhibiting oxidative stress, inflammatory factors, local renin-Ang system activation, and saline intake. Other female rats implanted with pellets of the mineralocorticoid receptor agonist deoxycorticosterone acetate manifested a high incidence of cerebral aneurysm formation and the upregulation of molecules related to oxidative stress, inflammatory factors, and the local renin-Ang system; their saline intake was increased. We demonstrate that mineralocorticoid receptor activation at least partly contributes to the pathogenesis of cerebral aneurysms.


Key words: cerebral • aneurysm • inflammation • mineralocorticoid receptor • oxidative stress