Regulation of renin release by calcium and ammonium ions in normal man

The effect of infusing calcium chloride, magnesium sulfate, sodium lactate, and ammonium chloride on renin secretion was compared to equimolar infusions of hypotonic and normal saline in sodium-deplete normal subjects. The infusion of 75 mEq of ammonium chloride for 60 min in 6 normal, sodium-deplete subjects suppressed plasma renin activity significantly (P less than 0.01) from 4.4 +/- 0.8 to 2.1 +/- 0.2 ng/ml/h, an effect comparable to that produced by normal saline. Sodium lactate (75 mEq sodium/hr) also significantly reduced renin levels at 20-30 min (P less than 0.01). The infusion of 1/3 normal saline (25 mEq sodium/h for 2 h) produced a significant reduction (P less than 0.01) in plasma renin activity (from control levels of 5.2 +/- 0.8 to 3.1 +/- 0.6 ng/ml/h at 90 min). On the other hand, comparable infusions of 50 mEq of magnesium sulfate over 2 h had no effect on renin release (4.6 +/- 0.8 to 4.6 +/- 0.9 ng/ml/h at 2 h), while the infusion of calcium chloride produced an intermediate reduction (5.2 +/- 1.2 to 3.7 +/- 0.8 ng/ml/h at 2 h (P less than 0.05). The observed effects of the hydrogen and calcium ions on suppressing renin release may be secondary to their known actions on renal sodium excretion. Since the infusions of calcium and hydrogen ions both result in an increased delivery of sodium to the distal segment of the nephron, the results may reflect the regulation of renin by the macula densa, a sensitive intrarenal sensor of renal tubular sodium.