Hypertension. 1995;25:581-586
(Hypertension. 1995;25:581-586.)
© 1995 American Heart Association, Inc.
Renal Nerves, Renin, and Angiotensinogen Gene Expression in Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats
Akio Nakamura;
Edward J. Johns
From the Department of Physiology, The Medical School, Birmingham,
UK.
Correspondence to Dr E.J. Johns, Department of Physiology, The Medical School, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK.
 |
Abstract
|
|---|
Abstract We compared the effect of the renal nerves on renal
function,
plasma renin activity, and renal renin and angiotensinogen
mRNA
contents in Wistar rats and spontaneously hypertensive rats
(SHR).
Rats were anesthetized with sodium pentobarbital, the
left kidney was
exposed, its nerves were sectioned, the ureter
was cannulated, and a
flow probe was placed on the renal artery.
The renal nerves were
stimulated for 1 hour to reduce renal
blood flow by 15% and 30%,
after which blood was removed for
measurement of plasma renin activity,
and kidneys were analyzed
for renal renin and angiotensinogen mRNA.
Frequency-related
reductions in filtration rate were similar, from 15%
to 50%,
as was sodium excretion, from 30% to 70%, in both SHR and
Wistar
rats. Basal plasma renin activity and responses to nerve
stimulation
in SHR were approximately half those of Wistar rats (all
P<.001).
SHR renal renin mRNA concentrations were
approximately three
quarters those of Wistar rats and were unchanged by
either low-
or high-level renal nerve stimulation, whereas the higher
rate
increased renin mRNA approximately threefold (
P<.05)
in the
Wistar rats. SHR renal angiotensinogen mRNA was one quarter
that
of the Wistar rats and was unaffected by nerve stimulation,
whereas in
the Wistar rats it was increased threefold (
P<.05)
by the
low but not high level of nerve stimulation. These findings
show that
whereas the renal nerves are able to modulate hemodynamic
and tubular
functions relatively normally in SHR, their ability
to increase renin
release, renal renin, and angiotensinogen
mRNA levels is depressed.
Key Words: sympathetic nervous system gene expression angiotensinogen renin kidney function RNA, messenger
 |
Introduction
|
|---|
The intrarenal renin-angiotensin system
plays an important role
in the regulation of both hemodynamic and
tubular functions
of the kidney,
1 and it is now recognized
that renin, angiotensinogen,
and converting enzyme are all present
within renal interstitial
fluid and have the potential of generating
angiotensin II (Ang
II) locally. Renin release from the granular cells
of the juxtaglomerular
apparatus is regulated by three major
mechanisms: the renal
sympathetic nerves, mediated by
ß
1-adrenoceptors; the
pressure-sensitive renal
baroreceptor; and the macula densa,
which is responsive to tubular
fluid composition.
2 Renin production
occurs by a series of
intracellular processes whereby expression
of the renin gene gives rise
to a specific mRNA for preprorenin,
which leads to the generation of
prorenin, part of which is
released directly from the cell via a
constitutive pathway,
while the major component is incorporated into
granules within
which mature renin is generated and released via a
regulatory
pathway.
3 Under normal conditions, the rate of
production approximately
matches that of release, although the level
can change in response
to long-term stimuli, such as dietary sodium
intake, dietary
protein intake, and administration of converting enzyme
inhibitors.
4
There has been relatively little study of the relation between the
production and release of renin in response to short-term changes in
activity within the renal sympathetic nerves that are known to cause a
rapid release of renin. El-Dahr and coworkers5 found that
in the rat, renal denervation blunted the increase in renal renin mRNA
after long-term ureteral obstruction. Similarly, Page et
al6 found that 24 hours after birth, renal renin mRNA
levels were lower in denervated than innervated kidneys. Both of these
studies therefore demonstrated that tonic activity in the renal nerves
could elevate renin gene expression. Furthermore, in vitro studies
using mouse renal juxtaglomerular cells, reported by Bruna and
coworkers,7 found that incubation with isoproterenol for a
minimum of 1 hour caused significant increases in both renin secretion
and renin mRNA. We examined the issue more directly in our own studies
in the rat8 in which the renal nerves were stimulated for
1-hour periods at different intensities. These findings indicated that
the renal nerves had to be stimulated at a level that reduced renal
blood flow (RBF) by 30% in order to elevate renal renin mRNA,
demonstrating that the kidney had to be subjected to a relatively
strong adrenergic stimulus. What is not clear at present is whether
the adrenergic control of renin release and production is normal or
abnormal in the spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR).
A number of studies have shown that intrarenal expression of the
angiotensinogen gene together with constitutive production and release
occurs at the level of the proximal tubule.9 It is likely
that the intrarenal level of angiotensinogen will have a major
influence on the rate at which Ang II will be generated locally. The
renal angiotensinogen mRNA concentrations can be influenced by a number
of long-term factors, such as dietary sodium
manipulation10 or converting enzyme
inhibition,11 suggesting that Ang II itself or sodium load
at the proximal tubule might have some regulatory role. Evidence from
our own work8 shows that low levels of renal sympathetic
activity may increase angiotensinogen gene expression, although at high
rates of nerve stimulation, angiotensinogen expression was unchanged.
As yet, virtually no studies have been undertaken to examine the
relations between changes in nerve activity and angiotensinogen gene
expression in the SHR.
The SHR is a rat model genetically derived from the Wistar strain in
which the renin-angiotensin system in the kidney is normal or
depressed.12 13 This view received further support from
Samani et al,14 who showed that in the adult SHR renal
renin mRNA levels were depressed compared with those in Wistar rats.
Also of interest is an early report by Pratt et al,13 who
demonstrated that the response of renal renin mRNA to dietary sodium
deficiency was blunted in the SHR. In the present study we examined
the effectiveness of the renal nerves in modulating the renal
renin-angiotensin system by measuring renal mRNA levels of renin and
angiotensinogen, which may reflect expression of the respective genes
in the SHR. This was done by stimulating the renal nerves for 1-hour
periods at rates that caused predetermined reductions in RBF and
comparing changes in renal function, plasma renin activity (PRA), and
renal renin and angiotensinogen mRNA levels in SHR and normotensive
Wistar rats.
 |
Methods
|
|---|
All animal procedures were permitted under the UK Government
Home
Office Project License No. PPL40/00274 and Personal License
No.
PIL 40/00371 issued to E.J.J. Animal care and handling conformed
with
institutional guidelines. Experiments were performed on
three groups of
six male SHR and three groups of six male Wistar
rats (all 10 to 12
weeks old) that were anesthetized with sodium
pentobarbital (60 mg/kg
IP) and maintained with a continuous
infusion of 12.5 mg/kg per hour
IV. After tracheostomy, the
left carotid artery was cannulated to allow
measurement of blood
pressure (Statham P23Db pressure transducer,
Gould-Statham Instruments
Inc, linked to a model 7 polygraph, Grass
Instruments) and removal
of blood samples. The left jugular vein was
cannulated, and
a saline infusion (150 mmol/L NaCl) was begun
immediately at
3 mL/h (Braun Secura infusion pump, Braun-Melsungen AG)
and
continued throughout the experiment. The left kidney was exposed
via
a retroperitoneal incision, its ureter cannulated, and the renal
artery
cleared to allow fitting of an electromagnetic flow probe (EP
100
series, Carolina Electronics Inc) for direct measurement of
RBF
(Carolina FM 501 flowmeter linked to the Grass polygraph).
Renal nerve
fibers going to the left kidney were isolated distal
to the celiac
ganglion and then cut. When surgery was complete,
a primer solution of
2 mL saline containing inulin (15 mg/mL)
was administered intravenously
and the saline infusion changed
to one containing inulin at 15 mg/mL.
Two hours were allowed
for stabilization before the experiments were
begun.
The experimental protocol consisted of two 15-minute clearance periods,
which acted to establish baseline values of cardiovascular and renal
function, followed by two 30-minute experimental clearance periods,
during which the renal nerves were either stimulated or remained
unstimulated. The mean values of the two control and two experimental
clearance periods were used in all comparisons. The renal nerves were
placed on bipolar silver wire electrodes, and square-wave stimuli were
delivered at 15 V with a 0.2-millisecond duration (Grass S8
stimulator). SHR and Wistar rats were subjected to the following
procedures: sham, in which the nerves of the left kidney were not
stimulated and therefore acted as a time control; low-level renal nerve
stimulation, in which the left renal nerves were stimulated at rates to
achieve a 15% reduction in RBF; and high-level renal nerve
stimulation, in which the left renal nerves were stimulated to achieve
a 30% reduction in RBF for 1 hour.
Arterial blood samples (0.35 mL) were collected into syringes, which
had been cooled with ice for at least 30 minutes, at the beginning and
end of each pair of clearance periods and were immediately centrifuged.
Plasma was stored (deep frozen), and erythrocytes were resuspended in
an equal volume of saline and infused back into the animal within 5
minutes. Inulin in plasma and urine was assayed as previously
described,15 and glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was
calculated as the clearance of inulin. Plasma and urinary sodium
concentrations were measured with a model 410c flame photometer
(Ciba-Corning). At the end of the experiment, a 1-mL blood sample was
removed and placed in a tube containing EDTA (5 mg/mL) and immediately
centrifuged at 4°C. The plasma was removed and deep frozen for later
estimation of PRA. Radioimmunoassay kits for the measurement of PRA
were obtained from CIS, UK Ltd, and used as previously
described15 ; the results are expressed as nanograms Ang I
generated per milliliter of plasma per hour. After the large blood
sample was taken, the kidneys were removed within 30 seconds and cut
into small blocks that were frozen in liquid nitrogen within 1 minute.
The tissues were stored separately in individual vials at -80°C.
Renin and angiotensinogen mRNA levels were analyzed by Northern blot
hybridization analysis. Total RNA was extracted from the kidneys
according to the method of Chirgwin et al16 ; the average
value of total RNA obtained was 1.8±0.1 mg/g of tissue (mean±SEM,
n=72). Each sample of total RNA was incubated for 1 hour at 50°C in a
solution containing 1 mol/L glyoxal and 50% dimethyl sulfoxide at pH
7.0. Samples of glyoxalated total RNA from each kidney, 7.5, 15, and 30
µg, were electrophoresed on 1.5% agarose gels in 10 mmol/L sodium
phosphate (pH 7.0) and transferred to a Biodyne A membrane (Pall
Ultrafine Filtration). The 698-bp Kpn I fragment for rat
renin cDNA17 and the 712-bp BamHI fragment
derived from the rat angiotensinogen cDNA insert of clone pRag
1618 as well as the 420-bp HinfI fragment for
human ß-actin cDNA (National Children's Research Centre, Tokyo,
Japan) were labeled by the oligolabeling method19 in the
presence of [
-32P]dCTP to a specific activity of
1x108 to 7x108 cpm/µg of DNA and used as a
hybridization probe. After prehybridization at 42°C for 12 hours with
hybridization buffer (50% formamide, 5x SSC, 0.1% sodium dodecyl
sulfate, 1% Denhardt's solution, 0.2 mg/mL salmon sperm DNA), the
membranes were transferred into the hybridization buffer containing the
32P-labeled probe. Autoradiograms were prepared with the
use of an intensifying screen at -80°C and were scanned with a
densitometer (LKB Ultroscan XL) for determination of individual band
densities. The absorbances of the hybrid images were plotted against
various amounts of total RNA applied to the membrane, a regression line
was drawn, its slope was calculated, and a correlation coefficient of
more than .9 indicated linearity in the plot that could then be
accepted as a valid measurement. This slope showed the relative level
of specific mRNA and was expressed in arbitrary densitometric units.
After the initial hybridization, the membranes were stripped and
reprobed with ß-actin cDNA, after which each slope of renin or
angiotensinogen in individual rats was normalized against that of
ß-actin from the same kidney sample. Comparisons between groups were
made against the sham group. To undertake comparisons between Wistar
and SHR basal levels, we blotted onto the same membrane pooled total
mRNA samples from the left and right kidneys of each group. After
hybridization with renin cDNA, the membranes were reprobed with
angiotensinogen cDNA and then ß-actin cDNA.
Statistical Analysis
The absolute and percent changes in the text and figures
represent means of changes recorded in individual animals.
Comparisons of the mRNA levels between left and right kidneys and
between groups were made with Student's t test. ANOVA
followed by Dunnett's test was used for multiple comparisons of renal
function, and paired Student's t test was used to test
differences within groups. Values of P<.05 were accepted as
statistically significant; the results are expressed as mean±SEM.
 |
Results
|
|---|
The Table
gives the mean baseline values of blood
pressure and
renal functional variables for all groups of SHR and
Wistar
rats obtained during the two control clearance periods. Blood
pressure
and GFR were significantly (
P<.001 and
P<.05, respectively)
higher in SHR compared with Wistar
rats, although RBF values
were similar in both strains. However, both
absolute and fractional
sodium excretions were significantly
(
P<.01) lower in the
SHR compared with the Wistar rats.
The effects of sham, low, and high levels of renal nerve stimulation in
both SHR and Wistar rats are shown in Fig 1. It can be
seen that in the sham stimulation Wistar rat group, there were minor,
insignificant rises in both renal hemodynamic and excretory functions
over the course of the experiment. However, during renal nerve
stimulation in the Wistar rats, there were significant
(P<.05 and P<.001) frequency-related decreases
in RBF, GFR, and absolute and fractional sodium excretions. A similar
pattern of renal responses was observed in SHR (Fig 1); that is, there
was a gradual increase in both renal hemodynamic and excretory
variables in the sham group, which did not reach statistical
significance, and significant frequency-dependent decreases in RBF,
GFR, and sodium excretions in the stimulation groups (Fig 1). The
magnitudes of these responses in RBF, GFR, and sodium excretions were
similar in both the SHR and Wistar rats whether considered in percent
or absolute terms.

View larger version (17K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]
|
Figure 1. Bar graphs show renal blood flow (RBF), glomerular
filtration rate (GFR), absolute sodium excretion
(UNaV), and fractional sodium excretion (FE Na) in
the sham groups of rats and in rats subjected to low- and high-level
renal nerve stimulation (RNS, n=6 for all groups). Percent changes for
each variable are given as slashed bars for Wistar rats and open bars
for spontaneously hypertensive rats. *P<.05,
**P<.001 compared with sham.
|
|
Fig 2 shows that stimulation of the renal nerves in
Wistar rats led to 7- and 14-fold increases in PRA levels at the low
(P<.001) and high (P<.001) rates of nerve
stimulation, respectively. In the sham group of SHR, PRA, at 5.2±1.2
ng/mL per hour, was approximately half that of the corresponding Wistar
group (P<.05) and was increased by fourfold and sevenfold
by the low (P<.001) and high (P<.001) rates of
renal nerve stimulation, respectively. At each rate of renal nerve
stimulation, the magnitude of the PRA responses was significantly (both
P<.001) smaller in the SHR than in the Wistar rats.

View larger version (13K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]
|
Figure 2. Bar graph shows plasma renin activity (PRA) achieved
in Wistar rats (slashed bars) and spontaneously hypertensive rats (open
bars) subjected to low- and high-level renal nerve stimulation (RNS).
*P<.05, **P<.001 between sham or stimulation
groups (n=6 for all groups). AI indicates angiotensin I.
|
|
Fig 3 compares the renal renin and angiotensinogen mRNA
content taken from a pooled sample of all kidneys from each of the sham
groups. It can be seen that in the SHR, renal renin mRNA concentration
was approximately three quarters that of the Wistar rats, and the renal
angiotensinogen mRNA value was only approximately one quarter that
observed in the Wistar rats. Fig 4 presents the
normalized values of renal renin mRNA in response to renal nerve
stimulation. It can be seen that activation of the renal nerves at both
low and high rates had no effect on renal renin mRNA levels in the SHR
(Fig 4), but in the Wistar rats, although the lower rates of renal
nerve stimulation had no effect, at the higher rate, renal renin mRNA
level was increased significantly (P<.05) by approximately
threefold (Fig 4); thus, the response in the SHR was attenuated. The
normalized values of renal angiotensinogen mRNA levels are given in Fig 5 and show that in the Wistar rats, although levels were
increased significantly (P<.05) when the renal nerves were
stimulated at the low rate, they were unchanged at the higher
stimulation rate. In the SHR, neither rate of renal nerve stimulation
changed the renal content of angiotensinogen mRNA (Fig 5). Fig 6 shows original autoradiograms of the Northern blots
for renin, angiotensinogen, and ß-actin from the pooled samples of
each group and for the left (denervated) and right (innervated) kidneys
of the sham group.

View larger version (15K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]
|
Figure 3. Bar graph shows mRNA signals as determined by
densitometric analysis of Northern blots of pooled kidney samples
obtained from Wistar rats (slashed bars, n=6) and spontaneously
hypertensive rats (open bars, n=6). Measurements were made under
identical conditions in blots taken from the same membrane subjected to
identical processing.
|
|

View larger version (16K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]
|
Figure 4. Bar graph shows renal renin mRNA levels in Wistar
rats (slashed bars) and spontaneously hypertensive rats (open bars)
obtained in the sham groups and with low- and high-level renal nerve
stimulation (RNS) (n=6 for all groups). Densitometric slopes of the
Northern blots were taken and the ratio against the ß-actin slope
calculated. With the sham group as a normalized value, comparisons were
made between the sham and stimulation groups for each rat strain.
Measurements were all taken from the same membrane subjected to the
same experimental conditions. *P<.05 compared with sham.
|
|

View larger version (16K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]
|
Figure 5. Bar graph shows renal angiotensinogen mRNA levels in
Wistar rats (slashed bars) and spontaneously hypertensive rats (open
bars) obtained in the sham group and with low- and high-level renal
nerve stimulation (RNS) (n=6 for all groups). Densitometric slopes of
the Northern blots were taken and the ratio against the ß-actin slope
calculated. With the sham group as a normalized value, comparisons were
made between the sham and stimulation groups for each rat strain.
Measurements were all taken from the same membrane subjected to the
same experimental conditions. *P<.05 compared with sham.
D.U. indicates densitometric units.
|
|

View larger version (36K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]
|
Figure 6. Original autoradiograms of Northern blots show
membranes from Wistar rats and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR)
hybridized with 32P-labeled renin, angiotensinogen, and
ß-actin cDNA. Three concentrations of total mRNA (30, 15, and 7.5
µg) were run in the first, second, and third lanes, respectively, and
were obtained from pooled samples from the sham left kidney [C(L)],
right contralateral kidney [C(R)], and the low-level (15%) and
high-level (30%) renal nerve stimulation groups (n=6 for all
groups).
|
|
 |
Discussion
|
|---|
The SHR is an experimental animal model of hypertension that
shares
some features of human essential hypertension and is
characterized
by the facts that PRA is in the low to normal
range
12 13 and
renal renin content is depressed.
Furthermore, it has been shown
that the activity within the sympathetic
nervous system is elevated
in these rats.
20 Thus, it is
evident that the renin-containing
cells of the afferent arteriole are
subjected to a number of
conflicting signals that determine renin
release. One major
factor would be the raised blood pressure, which
would tend
to suppress renin secretion via the renal baroreceptor
mechanism.
Conversely, the raised renal nerve activity would be causing
a
stimulation of renin release by a direct action on the granular
cells.
Furthermore, the renal nerves will act directly on the tubular
epithelial
cells to increase sodium reabsorption,
1 and the
decreased filtration
rate would decrease the sodium load presented
to the macula
densa, thereby elevating renin secretion.
2
Besides these main
mechanisms, it may be possible that in the SHR the
ß-adrenoceptors
at the renin-containing cells could be downregulated
as a consequence
of the chronically elevated sympathetic drive. Because
of this
complex situation, we made an attempt in the present study
to
determine the effectiveness of the renal sympathetic nerves
in
causing renin release and whether this resulted in a stimulation
of
renin mRNA. At the same time, we examined the ability of
the renal
nerves to modulate angiotensinogen mRNA levels in
the kidney.
The blood pressures of the different experimental groups were
comparable to those reported previously for this experimental
preparation,21 which were higher than those observed in
normotensive Wistar rats.8 21 It was apparent that the
levels of renal hemodynamics and sodium excretion were comparable to
those we and others have observed21 22 in the SHR using
similar experimental protocols. An interesting observation was that the
rate of sodium excretion, in both absolute and fractional terms, was
much lower in SHR than Wistar rats even though the kidneys were
operating at a higher pressure, suggesting that the kidneys of these
hypertensive rats were in a state of active sodium retention.
Stimulation of the renal nerves in the Wistar rats caused a
frequency-related reduction in RBF that was associated with somewhat
smaller falls in GFR and larger decreases in both absolute and
fractional sodium excretions. Essentially similar patterns and
magnitudes of renal hemodynamic and tubular responses to nerve
stimulation were observed in the SHR. Thus, in terms of kidney
function, the renal nerves had a similar effect in both Wistar rats and
SHR.
The sham stimulation SHR group had PRA levels that were approximately
half those of normotensive Wistar rats; this has been observed
previously by others12 13 and would suggest that the basal
secretion of renin in the SHR was suppressed, possibly as a result of
the elevated systemic and renal perfusion pressures in these
hypertensive animals. Stimulation of the renal nerves to reduce RBF by
15% and 30% led to frequency-related increases of PRA in both the SHR
and Wistar rats. This renin release could be either caused by a direct
action of the renal nerves on the renin-containing cells or a result of
the reduction in RBF, or a combination of these factors. It is likely
that the main mechanism responsible for the increase in PRA was a
direct action of the renal nerves, as in earlier reports it was shown
that in the presence of a ß-adrenoceptor antagonist, renal nerve
stimulation causing a large23 or modest8 24
reduction in RBF markedly attenuated the increase in PRA. Indeed, in
our previous study using Wistar rats subjected to the same experimental
procedures,8 we observed that atenolol prevented renin
release and activation of renal renin mRNA production during similar
levels of renal nerve stimulation. This view is supported by Fray et
al,25 who have argued that an increase in renal
resistance, as occurs during elevation of renal perfusion pressure or
during activation of the renal nerves, decreases the renal
baroreceptormediated release of renin. More interestingly, the
magnitudes of the increase in PRA, fourfold and sevenfold in the SHR,
were approximately half those observed in Wistar rats during renal
nerve stimulation decreasing RBF to the same extent. The reason for
this difference is unclear, but it may be that because of the higher
pressure in the SHR, the increased renal perfusion pressure and
consequent elevation of renal vascular resistance would act to depress
the mechanisms mediating renin release and possibly make the
renin-containing cells relatively less sensitive to the neural input to
these cells.
A number of long-term (eg, dietary salt depletion) and moderate-term
(eg, 4 to 8 hours of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor
administration) stimuli are known to elevate both renin release and
renal renin mRNA levels.26 In the current study, a much
shorter term stimulus was used, a period of 1 hour, and neurally
mediated reductions in RBF of 30% for 1 hour led to a threefold to
fourfold elevation in renal renin mRNA in the Wistar rats. By contrast,
in the SHR even though the same degree of neurally induced reductions
in RBF, of 15% and 30%, were used, renal renin mRNA was not changed
at either level. It is interesting to speculate why this was so. One
possibility may be that because, as reflected by the PRA, relatively
less renin was released in the SHR compared with the Wistar rats for
the same level of renal nerve stimulation in terms of function, the
signals initiating raised expression of the renin gene were not
activated to the same extent in the SHR. It may be that a higher rate
of renal nerve stimulation is required to elevate PRA levels comparable
to those obtained in the Wistar rats before a change in renal renin
mRNA levels can be detected. This could lead to the suggestion that
some other mechanism attenuated the response in renin gene expression
in the SHR. Indeed, Samani and coworkers14 have indicated
that renin gene expression is abnormal in many tissues of the SHR,
including the kidney. A final consideration is that the chronically
elevated renal sympathetic drive in the SHR could have resulted in a
downregulation of the ß-adrenoceptors.
The other component of an intrarenal renin-angiotensin system is
angiotensinogen, which is necessary for the generation of Ang II
locally. It was interesting that in the Wistar rats the renal
expression of angiotensinogen gene was elevated at low levels of renal
nerve activity although at the higher rate of renal nerve activation
the expression of this gene was unchanged compared with the
unstimulated kidney. The pattern was markedly different in the SHR,
insofar as renal angiotensinogen mRNA levels did not differ in any of
the rat groups studied. Again, the reasons for this are unclear.
Previous studies26 have shown that hepatic angiotensinogen
mRNA levels depend on Ang II, for example, are raised by Ang II
infusions and depressed by converting enzyme inhibition. The situation
in the kidney is less clear, although Pratt and
coworkers13 have shown renal angiotensinogen mRNA to be
elevated by dietary sodium depletion in the Wistar rat but not the SHR.
The possibility arises that in the SHR the responsiveness of the
angiotensinogen gene to physiological stimuli may be depressed.
In this study we set out to describe the effects of activation of
the renal nerves for 1 hour on renal function, PRA, and renal renin and
angiotensinogen gene expression in the SHR compared with the Wistar
rat. The results showed that stimulation of the renal nerves caused
approximate frequency-related reductions in RBF, GFR, and sodium
output, the magnitudes of which were the same in both SHR and Wistar
rats. An important finding was that under these conditions, the rise of
PRA in the SHR was only half that obtained in the Wistar rats.
Furthermore, in the Wistar rats the expression of the renin gene was
elevated approximately threefold at the higher rate of renal nerve
stimulation, whereas it remained unchanged in the SHR at both the high
and low rates. Although the renal angiotensinogen mRNA levels in the
Wistar rats were elevated at the low but not high rates of renal nerve
stimulation, in the SHR the level of renal angiotensinogen gene
expression remained unaltered. The findings demonstrate that in the SHR
the neural influences on the expression of the renin and
angiotensinogen genes are depressed. This may be indicative of
abnormalities within the cell determining expression of these genes, or
alternatively, the renin-releasing cells are subjected to conflicting
signals, that is, raised renal sympathetic nerve activity and raised
perfusion pressure, which together determine the overall response of
the cells.
 |
Acknowledgments
|
|---|
Akio Nakamura was a recipient of a British Heart Foundation
Overseas
Research Fellowship. This study was supported in part by a
grant
from Pfizer (Kent, UK). We thank Dr Hirwaki Ohkubo for the gift
of
the pRag 16 for rat angiotensinogen cDNA and Dr Akiyoshi Fukamizu
for
the
Kpn I fragment for rat renin cDNA.
Received August 15, 1994;
first decision September 14, 1994;
accepted November 28, 1994.
 |
References
|
|---|
-
Johns EJ. Role of angiotensin II and the sympathetic
nervous system in the control of renal function. J
Hypertens. 1989;7:695-701. [Medline]
[Order article via Infotrieve]
-
Skott O, Jensen BL. Cellular and intrarenal control of renin
secretion. Clin Sci. 1993;81:1-10.
-
Morris BJ. Molecular biology of renin, I: gene and protein
structure, synthesis and processing. J Hypertens. 1992;10:209-214. [Medline]
[Order article via Infotrieve]
-
Dzau VJ, Ingelfinger JR. Molecular biology and
pathophysiology of the intrarenal renin-angiotensin system.
J Hypertens. 1989;7(suppl 7):S3-S8.
-
El-Dahr SS, Gomez RA, Gray MS, Peach MJ, Carey RM, Chevalier
RL. Renal nerves modulate renin gene expression in the developing rat
kidney with ureteral obstruction. J Clin Invest. 1991;87:800-810.
-
Page WV, Pearlman S, Smith FG, Segar JL, Robillard JE. Renal
nerves modulate kidney renin gene expression during transition from
fetal to newborn life. Am J Physiol. 1992;262:R459-R463.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
-
Bruna RD, Kurtz A, Corvol P, Pinet F. Renin mRNA
quantification using polymerase chain reaction in cultured
juxtaglomerular cells. Circ Res. 1993;73:639-648. [Abstract/Free Full Text]
-
Nakamura A, Johns EJ. The effect of renal nerves on the
expression of the renin and angiotensinogen genes in the rat
kidney. Am J Physiol. 1994;266:E230-E241. [Abstract/Free Full Text]
-
Ingelfinger JR, Zuo WM, Fon EA, Ellison KE, Dzau VJ. In situ
hybridization evidence for angiotensinogen messenger RNA in the rat
proximal tubule. J Clin Invest. 1990;85:417-423.
-
Ingelfinger JR, Pratt RE, Ellison KE, Dzau VJ. Sodium
regulation of angiotensinogen mRNA expression in rat kidney cortex and
medulla. J Clin Invest. 1986;78:1311-1315.
-
Iwao H, Fukui K, Kim S, Nakayama N, Ohkubo H, Nakanishi S, Abe
Y. Sodium balance effects on renin, angiotensinogen and atrial
natriuretic polypeptide mRNA levels. Am J Physiol. 1988;225:E129-E136.
-
Matsushima Y, Kawamura M, Akabone S, Imanishi M, Kurasnochi M,
Ito K, Omal T. Increases in renal angiotensin II content and tubular
angiotensin II receptor in prehypertensive spontaneously hypertensive
rats. J Hypertens. 1988;6:791-796. [Medline]
[Order article via Infotrieve]
-
Pratt RE, Zou WM, Naftilan AJ, Ingelfinger JR, Dzau VJ.
Altered sodium regulation of renal angiotensinogen mRNA in the
spontaneously hypertensive rat. Am J Physiol. 1989;256:F469-F474. [Abstract/Free Full Text]
-
Samani NJ, Swales JD, Brammer WJ. A widespread abnormality of
renin gene expression in the spontaneously hypertensive rat: modulation
in some tissues with the development of hypertension. Clin
Sci. 1989;77:629-636. [Medline]
[Order article via Infotrieve]
-
Handa RK, Johns EJ. A role for angiotensin II in the
renal responses to somatic nerve stimulation in the rat. J
Physiol (Lond). 1987;393:425-436. [Abstract/Free Full Text]
-
Chirgwin JH, Przybsyla AE, Macdonald RJ, Rutter WJ. Isolation
of biologically active ribonucleic acid from sources enriched in
ribonuclease. Biochemistry. 1979;18:5294-5299. [Medline]
[Order article via Infotrieve]
-
Tada M, Fukamizu A, Seo MS, Takahashi S, Murakami K.
Nucleotide sequence of rat renin cDNA. Nucleic Acids Res. 1988;16:3576. [Free Full Text]
-
Ohkubo H, Nakayama K, Tanaka T, Nakanishi S. Tissue
distribution of rat angiotensinogen mRNA and structural analysis of
its heterogeneity. J Biol Chem. 1986;261:319-323. [Abstract/Free Full Text]
-
Feinberg AI, Vogelstein B. A technique for radiolabelling DNA
restriction endonuclease fragments to high specific activity.
Anal Biochem. 1983;132:6-13. [Medline]
[Order article via Infotrieve]
-
Lundin S, Ricksten SE, Thoren P. Renal sympathetic activity in
spontaneously hypertensive rats with normotensive controls, as studied
by three different methods. Acta Physiol Scand. 1984;120:265-272. [Medline]
[Order article via Infotrieve]
-
Johns EJ. A study of the action of amlodipine on
adrenergically regulated sodium handling by the kidney in normotensive
and hypertensive rats. Br J Pharmacol. 1988;93:561-568. [Medline]
[Order article via Infotrieve]
-
Pollock DM, Arendshorst WJ. Effect of acute renal denervation
and ANF on renal function in adult spontaneously hypertensive
rats. Am J Physiol. 1991;261:R835-R841. [Abstract/Free Full Text]
-
Coote JH, Johns EJ, McLeod VH, Singer B. Effect of renal nerve
stimulation on renal blood flow and adrenergic blockade on plasma renin
activity in the cat. J Physiol (Lond). 1992;226:15-36. [Abstract/Free Full Text]
-
Johns EJ. An investigation into the type of ß-adrenoceptor
mediating sympathetically activated renin release in the cat. Br
J Pharmacol. 1981;73:749-754. [Medline]
[Order article via Infotrieve]
-
Fray JCS, Lush DJ, Park CS. Interrelationship of blood flow,
juxtaglomerular cells and hypertension: role of physical equilibria and
Ca. Am J Physiol. 1986;251:R646-R662.
-
Nakamura A, Iwau H, Fukui K, Kimura S, Tamaki T, Nakanishi S,
Abe Y. Regulation of liver angiotensinogen and kidney renin mRNA levels
by angiotensin II. Am J Physiol. 1990;256:E1-E6.
This article has been cited by other articles:

|
 |

|
 |
 
M. W. Thompson, S. B. Smith, and C. D. Sigmund
Regulation of Human Renin mRNA Expression and Protein Release in Transgenic Mice
Hypertension,
August 1, 1996;
28(2):
290 - 296.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
|
 |
|