Glomerular losartan (DuP 753)-sensitive angiotensin II receptor density is increased in young spontaneously hypertensive rats

Porcine skeletal muscle troponin is a good source of peptides with Angiotensin-I converting enzyme inhibitory activity and antihypertensive effects in spontaneously hypertensive rats

In the search for novel peptides that inhibit the angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE), porcine skeletal troponin was hydrolyzed with pepsin, and the products were subjected to various types of chromatography to isolate active peptides. Glu-Lys-Glu-Arg-Glu-Arg-Gln (EKERERQ) and Lys-Arg-Gln-Lys-Tyr-Asp-Ile (KRQKYDI) were identified as active peptides, and their 50% inhibitory concentrations were found to be 552.5 and 26.2 microM, respectively. These are novel ACE inhibitory peptides, and the activity of KRQKYDI was the strongest among previously reported troponin-originated peptides. KRQKYDI was slowly hydrolyzed by treatment with ACE, and kinetic studies indicated that this peptide was a competitive inhibitor of the enzyme. When KRQKYDI was administered orally to spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) at a dose of 10 mg/kg, a temporary antihypertensive activity was observed at 3 and 6 h after administration.

Neonatal sympathectomy reduces NADPH oxidase activity and vascular resistance in spontaneously hypertensive rat kidneys

Neonatal sympathectomy reduces arterial pressure in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). In SHR transplanted with a kidney from sympathectomized SHR, arterial pressure was lower and less Na+ sensitive than in SHR transplanted with a kidney from hydralazine-treated SHR. This study was performed to identify underlying renal mechanisms. Tests for differential renal mRNA expression of nine a priori selected genes revealed robust differences for renal medullary expression of the NADPH oxidase subunit p47phox. Therefore, we investigated the effects of neonatal sympathectomy on renal mRNA expression of NADPH oxidase subunits, NADPH oxidase activity, and renal function. In 10-wk-old sympathectomized SHR fed a 0.6% NaCl diet, medullary p47phox and gp91phox expression was 40% less than in hydralazine-treated SHR. Also, after a 1.8% NaCl diet, medullary p47phox mRNA expression was lower in sympathectomized than in hydralazine-treated SHR. We found lower cortical (-30%, P<0.01) and medullary (-30%, P<0.05) NADPH oxidase activities in sympathectomized than in hydralazine-treated or untreated SHR. Glomerular filtration rate, renal blood flow, medullary blood flow, and fractional Na+ excretion in kidney grafts from sympathectomized and hydralazine-treated donors (n=8 per group) were similar at baseline and in response to a 20-mmHg rise in renal perfusion pressure. Renal vascular resistance was lower in kidneys from sympathectomized than hydralazine-treated donors (25+/-2 vs. 32+/-4 mmHg.min.ml-1, P<0.05). The results indicate that the sympathetic nervous system contributes to the level of renal NADPH oxidase activity and to perinatal programming of alterations in renal vascular function that lead to elevated renal vascular resistance in SHR.

Temporary losartan or captopril in young SHR induces malignant hypertension despite initial normotension

BACKGROUND

Exposure of normotensive rats to angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors in early life causes hypertrophy of intrarenal arteries. Similar defects have been found in knockout mice lacking angiotensinogen, ACE, or angiotensin II type 1 (AT1) receptors. On the other hand, transient inhibition of the renin-angiotensin system from 2 weeks of age in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR), either with ACE inhibitors or with AT1 receptor antagonists partially prevents the increase in blood pressure. However, permanent treatment of SHR from conception onwards with ACE inhibitors completely prevents hypertension. Although these studies demonstrated protection from hypertension-induced changes in the heart and large arteries, renal arteries were not studied and follow-up did not extend beyond 6 months of age. We postulated that while brief exposure to ACE inhibitors or AT1 receptor antagonists in young SHR would temporarily decrease blood pressure, it would also be associated with development of intrarenal arterial malformation, and ultimately have deleterious effects.

METHODS

Direct effects on intrarenal arterial morphology of an ACE inhibitor (captopril, 100 mg/kg/day) and an AT1 receptor antagonist (losartan, 50 mg/kg/day), administered from the last week of gestation until 8 weeks of age were examined in SHR. After stopping treatment at 8 weeks, we continued to monitor blood pressure until spontaneous death.

RESULTS

Systolic blood pressure at 8 weeks was normalized by captopril and losartan (SHR control 187 +/- 8 mm Hg; captopril 118 +/- 5 mm Hg; and losartan 120 +/- 9 mm Hg). However, by 30 weeks, blood pressure had increased to control SHR levels. At 4 weeks, the media of renal arteries and arterioles was hypertrophied. Marked smooth muscle cell hyperplasia of cortical arteries resulted in significantly increased wall thickness by 8 weeks, despite similar external diameter. Arterial wall structure was disrupted, with fragmentation of elastic fibers and irregular distribution of collagen type I fibers. After stopping treatment, the rats gradually began to show poor health and all had died by 1 year of age, while all 1-year-old control SHR females were in good health. The cause of morbidity and mortality in the rats treated in early life was clearly malignant hypertension. Severe hypertrophy of renal arterioles was found, as well as cerebral hemorrhage.

CONCLUSION

Despite initial normalization of blood pressure interference with the renin-angiotensin system during a crucial stage of development in SHR can initiate marked smooth muscle cell hyperplasia and disruption of the wall structure of the intrarenal arteries. Subsequent progression of this intrarenal process after cessation of treatment suggests an independent process that eventually results in malignant hypertension and early death.

Effect of cross-fostering on blood pressure and renal function in the New Zealand genetically hypertensive rat

1. The severity of hypertension displayed by adult spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and Dahl (SS/Jr) rats can be reduced by 20-30 mmHg if the hypertensive pup is cross-fostered to a normotensive mother within the first 2 weeks of birth. In the SHR, at least, this blood pressure-lowering effect arises through programming of the neonatal kidney to excrete sodium more effectively. Thus, cross-fostering may only be effective in lowering pressure in salt-sensitive hypertensive strains. Accordingly, the aim of the present study was to determine whether cross-fostering is effective in lowering adult blood pressure in the salt-resistant New Zealand genetically hypertensive (GH) rat. 2. Genetically hypertensive and control normotensive (N) rat pups were reared by either their natural mothers or a foster mother of the opposite strain (NX and GHX). Blood pressure was tracked from the age of 6-18 weeks, at which time renal function was assessed using standard clearance techniques in anaesthetized rats. Renal function was also assessed in a separate group of young rats at 5-6 weeks of age. 3. Cross-fostered GHX rats had lower blood pressure than GH rats, but this difference was only apparent until 9 weeks. The NX rats had higher blood pressures than N rats, but again pressure converged at 10 weeks. Basal renal function did not differ between GH and GHX rats or between N and NX rats at either age. However, young GH rats had lower renal blood flow, glomerular filtration rate, urine output and sodium excretion than N rats. 4. These data show that cross-fostering is effective in lowering blood pressure in GH rats, albeit transiently. The kidneys do not appear to play a role, because renal function did not differ under the current experimental conditions between GH and GHX rats. However, the kidney may play a greater role in the onset of hypertension in the GH rat than previously thought.

Hypoxia and high glucose upregulate AT1 receptor expression and potentiate ANG II-induced proliferation in VSM cells

We examined the effect of hypoxia and high glucose (HG) on ANG II type 1 (AT(1)) receptor expression and proliferation in cultured vascular smooth muscle (VSM) cells. Exposure of quiescent cells to hypoxia in a serum-free DME-Ham's F-12 medium for 6-24 h induced a progressive increase in AT(1) mRNA expression. Exposure of cells to 24 h of hypoxia also resulted in a significant increase in ANG II receptor binding as assessed with (125)I-labeled ANG II. Treatment with ANG II (1 microM) for 24 h under normoxic conditions caused an approximately 1.5-fold increase in both DNA synthesis and cell number, which was enhanced to approximately 3.0-fold under hypoxic conditions. An AT(1) receptor antagonist (losartan, 10 microM) blocked the ANG II-induced increase in DNA synthesis under both normoxic and hypoxic conditions. Incubations in HG medium (25 mM) for 12-24 h under normoxic conditions induced an approximately 2.5-fold increase in AT(1) mRNA levels, which was markedly enhanced by hypoxia to approximately 5.5-fold at 12 h and approximately 8.5-fold at 24 h. ANG II under HG-normoxic conditions caused a complete downregulation of AT(1) expression, which was prevented by hypoxia. These results demonstrate an upregulation of AT(1) receptor expression by hypoxia and HG in cultured VSM cells and suggest a mechanism for enhanced ANG II-induced VSM cell proliferation and the development of atherosclerosis in diabetes.

Antihypertensive effect of ACE inhibitory oligopeptides from chicken egg yolks

Oligopeptides of 1 KDa or less were obtained by hydrolysis of chicken egg yolks with a crude enzyme, and by dialysis with a semipermeable membrane filter. Since the extracted peptides had an inhibitory action on the activity of angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) in vitro, they were orally administered at 20, 100 and 500 mg/kg body weight to spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) for 12 weeks to analyze the physiological role on cardiovascular functions. The administered oligopeptides suppressed the development of hypertension at all dosages. After 12 weeks at 500 mg/kg body weight, the values for systolic, mean, and diastolic blood pressure were approximately 10% less in SHRs administered than controls. Furthermore, serum ACE activity of the peptide-administered groups was significantly lower than that of the control group in a dose-related manner. Our results imply that oligopeptides extracted from hen's egg yolks could potentially suppress the development of hypertension in SHR, and this effect might be induced by the inhibition of ACE activity.

Ontogenetic aspects of hypertension development: analysis in the rat

In this review, we attempt to outline the age-dependent interactions of principal systems controlling the structure and function of the cardiovascular system in immature rats developing hypertension. We focus our attention on the cardiovascular effects of various pharmacological, nutritional, and behavioral interventions applied at different stages of ontogeny. Several distinct critical periods (developmental windows), in which particular stimuli affect the further development of the cardiovascular phenotype, are specified in the rat. It is evident that short-term transient treatment of genetically hypertensive rats with certain antihypertensive drugs in prepuberty and puberty (at the age of 4-10 wk) has long-term beneficial effects on further development of their cardiovascular apparatus. This juvenile critical period coincides with the period of high susceptibility to the hypertensive effects of increased salt intake. If the hypertensive process develops after this critical period (due to early antihypertensive treatment or late administration of certain hypertensive stimuli, e.g., high salt intake), blood pressure elevation, cardiovascular hypertrophy, connective tissue accumulation, and end-organ damage are considerably attenuated compared with rats developing hypertension during the juvenile critical period. As far as the role of various electrolytes in blood pressure modulation is concerned, prohypertensive effects of dietary Na+ and antihypertensive effects of dietary Ca2+ are enhanced in immature animals, whereas vascular protective and antihypertensive effects of dietary K+ are almost independent of age. At a given level of dietary electrolyte intake, the balance between dietary carbohydrate and fat intake can modify blood pressure even in rats with established hypertension, but dietary protein intake affects the blood pressure development in immature animals only. Dietary protein restriction during gestation, as well as altered mother-offspring interactions in the suckling period, might have important long-term hypertensive consequences. The critical periods (developmental windows) should be respected in the future pharmacological or gene therapy of human hypertension.

Cyclosporine A up-regulates angiotensin II receptors and calcium responses in human vascular smooth muscle cells

BACKGROUND

The most widely used immunosuppressive drug for preventing graft rejection and treating autoimmune diseases is currently cyclosporine A (CsA). However, CsA also causes vasoconstriction, which is considered to be at the origin of CsA-induced nephrotoxicity and hypertension. To evaluate the cellular basis for these side effects, we studied the influence of CsA on the regulation of the free cytosolic Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]c) in cultured human vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs).

METHODS

SMCs were isolated from the medial layer of human aorta. [Ca2+]c regulation was studied by fluorimetry with fura 2 and by measuring 45Ca2+ effluxes. Angiotensin II (Ang II) receptors were detected by [125I]Ang II binding.

RESULTS

Pretreatment of human SMCs for 24 hours with CsA in its therapeutic concentration range (0. 1 to 10.0 microM) had no effect on basal [Ca2+]c, but increased the [Ca2+]c elevation and 45Ca2+ efflux when cells were stimulated with Ang II. Half-maximal effects occurred at approximately 1 microM CsA. The CsA effects on [Ca2+]c were accompanied by a nearly twofold increase in Ang II receptor number, whereas no change in affinity to Ang II was observed. CsA did not alter endothelin-1- or thapsigargin-induced 45Ca2+ efflux. Increases in both Ca2+ responses and [125I]Ang II binding were attenuated by the transcriptional inhibitor actinomycin D. The effects of CsA did not appear to be mediated by calcineurin inhibition because cyclosporine H, which is not immunosuppressive, also increased the Ang II-induced 45Ca2+ efflux.

CONCLUSION

These data suggest that CsA preferentially up-regulates the transcription of Ang II receptors, which very likely leads to vasoconstriction in vivo and could be at the origin of CsA-induced hypertension and nephrotoxicity in humans.

Kidney aminopeptidase A and hypertension, part I: spontaneously hypertensive rats

Tissue and plasma levels of aminopeptidase A (APA), the principal enzyme that hydrolyzes angiotensin II (Ang II) to angiotensin III, were measured in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and their normotensive control strain at 3 different ages corresponding to prehypertensive (4 weeks), developing (8 weeks), and established (16 weeks) phases of hypertension. Plasma APA activity was significantly but modestly elevated in SHR at all 3 ages compared with normotensive Wistar-Kyoto rats. Likewise, levels of APA in brain, heart, and adrenal gland were generally, but again only moderately, elevated in SHR at all ages. However, a large increase in APA activity was seen within the kidney in which APA levels were elevated 41%, 51%, and 68% in SHR at 4, 8, and 16 weeks of age, respectively. Kidney APA levels were also significantly increased in immunoblots from 8- and 16-week-old SHR. Glomeruli isolated from 16-week-old SHR had 57% higher APA activity and increased immunoreactivity compared with Wistar-Kyoto rats. To determine whether the increase in kidney APA activity in SHR was related to Ang II levels, SHR were treated for 2 weeks with the angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor captopril. Captopril treatment reduced blood pressure to normotensive values and resulted in a 25% reduction in kidney APA activity. These results suggest that APA expression in the kidney may be regulated by activity of the renin-angiotensin system. If so, this would further suggest that upregulation of APA during conditions in which Ang II levels were elevated would have a protective effect against Ang II-mediated cardiovascular diseases, whereas a decrease in APA expression or a failure to upregulate would exacerbate such conditions.

Young SHR express increased type 1 angiotensin II receptors in renal proximal tubule

A potential role for the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) in the development and/or maintenance of hypertension in the genetic model of rat hypertension, spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR), has been suggested by studies indicating that treatment of immature animals with angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors prevents subsequent development of hypertension. Because young SHR also demonstrate RAS-dependent increased sodium retention, we examined proximal tubule type 1 angiotensin II receptor (AT1R) mRNA expression in young (4 wk) or adult (14 wk) SHR compared with age-matched Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats. Proximal tubules were isolated by Percoll gradient centrifugation, and AT1R mRNA expression was measured by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). At 14 wk, when SHR had established hypertension [mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) of SHR vs. WKY: 145 +/- 6 vs. 85 +/- 5 mmHg, n = 14-15], there were no differences in proximal tubule AT1R mRNA levels [SHR vs. WKY: 79 +/- 14 vs. 72 +/- 14 counts/min (cpm) per cpm mutant AT1R per cpm beta-actin x 10(-6), n = 6; not significant (NS)]. In contrast, in 4 wk SHR, at a time of minimal elevations in blood pressure (MAP: 70 +/- 8 vs. 63 +/- 3), SHR proximal tubule AT1R mRNA levels were 263 +/- 30% that of WKY (143 +/- 18 vs. 60 +/- 11 cpm per cpm of mutant AT1R per cpm beta-actin x 10(-6), n = 8; P < 0.005). We have recently shown that chronic ACE inhibition decreases proximal tubule AT1R expression and have also shown that chronic L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalamine (L-DOPA) administration inhibits AT1R expression in adult Sprague-Dawley proximal tubule and cultured proximal tubule, and this inhibition is mediated via Gs-coupled DA1 receptors. When 3-wk-old animals were given L-DOPA or captopril for 1 wk, MAP was not altered (70 +/- 8 vs. 60 +/- 4 or 61 +/- 5 mmHg), but proximal tubule AT1R mRNA was no longer significantly different between SHR and WKY (68 +/- 9 vs. 38 +/- 7 or 20 +/- 3 vs. 47 +/- 15 cpm per cpm of mutant AT1R per cpm beta-actin x 10(-6)), due to a significant decrease in proximal tubule AT1R expression in SHR (P < 0.005, compared with untreated SHR). Immunoreactive proximal tubule AT1R expression also was increased in 4 wk SHR and was reversed with captopril or L-DOPA treatment. Therefore, these results indicate that young, but not adult, SHR have increased expression of proximal tubule AT1R and that chronic L-DOPA or captopril treatment decreased the elevated AT1R expression to control levels. These results provide further support for an important role of the RAS in the development of hypertension in SHR.