Published Online
on September 2, 2003

A more recent version of this article appeared on October 1, 2003

This Article Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 42/4/793    most recent 01.HYP.0000090321.81218.7Bv1 Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Rigatto, K. Articles by Morris, M. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Rigatto, K. Articles by Morris, M. Pubmed/NCBI databases Gene GEO Profiles HomoloGene UniGene Compound via MeSH Substance via MeSH Hazardous Substances DB OXYTOCIN SODIUM CHLORIDE

Submitted on May 12, 2003
Revised on June 17, 2003

Salt Appetite and the Renin-Angiotensin System. Effect of Oxytocin Deficiency

Katya Rigatto; Robert Puryear; Iveta Bernatova; and Mariana Morris^*

From the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Federal University of Pelotas (K.R.), Pelotas, Brazil; the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Wright State University School of Medicine (R.P., M.M.), Dayton, Ohio; and the Institute of Normal and Pathological Physiology, Slovak Academy of Sciences (I.B.), Bratislava, Slovak Republic.

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: mariana.morris{at}wright.edu.

Abstract--To explore the role of oxytocin in the regulation of salt appetite and blood pressure, we conducted studies in oxytocin gene-knockout mice and determined (1) blood pressure and heart rate during day and night periods, (2) salt appetite after iso-osmotic volume depletion, and (3) salt appetite and blood pressure after central injection of angiotensin II. Long-term arterial catheters were inserted, and blood pressure and heart rate were recorded for 24 hours. There was a modest decrease in blood pressure and heart rate in knockout mice. Salt appetite was measured with a 2- bottle choice (water and 2% NaCl), with measurement of licking activity. Mice were injected subcutaneously with 30% polyethylene glycol (0.5 mL), and voluntary intakes were measured for 24 hours. Knockout mice consumed 3 times the amount of NaCl than did controls, 276±77 vs 90±38 licks/24 h (P<0.05). Water consumption was similar between groups. Angiotensin II (5, 50, and 200 ng/3 µL) injected intracerebroventricularly produced dose-related increases in intake, with no differences between the groups. The 50-ng dose of angiotensin II elicited salt and water intakes of 151±43 vs 160±33 licks and 250±53 vs and 200±51 licks, respectively (control vs knockout). The pressor response to angiotensin II was not different between the groups. Results suggest that oxytocin plays a role in the regulation of blood pressure and salt appetite, specifically as mediated by volume receptors, and that the renin-angiotensin system is not involved in these changes.

Key words: mice • blood pressure • angiotensin • renin-angiotensin system • water-electrolyte balance • sodium

This article has been cited by other articles:

				M. M White and W. K Samson A possible relationship between brain-derived adrenomedullin and oxytocin in the regulation of sodium balance J. Endocrinol., November 1, 2009; 203(2): 253 - 262. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. C. Geerling and A. D. Loewy Central regulation of sodium appetite Exp Physiol, February 1, 2008; 93(2): 177 - 209. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				I. Bernatova, K. V. Rigatto, M. P. Key, and M. Morris Stress-induced pressor and corticosterone responses in oxytocin-deficient mice Exp Physiol, September 1, 2004; 89(5): 549 - 557. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. W. Jones Dietary Sodium and Blood Pressure Hypertension, May 1, 2004; 43(5): 932 - 935. [Full Text] [PDF]