Cardiorespiratory effects of prolonged angiotensin II block in resting conscious dogs

Intravenous (iv) infusion of the angiotensin II (ANG II) receptor blocker saralasin in resting conscious dogs during physiological pertubations, such as hypotension and prolonged hypoxia, indicates the presence of an ANG II drive to increase respiration and decrease the arterial partial pressure of CO2 (PaCO2). In contrast, in eupneic resting dogs on a regular chow diet, iv infusion of saralasin for short periods (up to 30 min) provides no evidence of a tonic effect of circulating levels of ANG II on acid-base balance, respiration, metabolism, or circulation. However, ANG II influences physiological processes involving salt, water, and acid-base balances, which are potentially expressed beyond a 30 min time period, and could secondarily affect respiration. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that blocking ANG II with iv saralasin would affect respiration and circulation over a 4-h period. Contrary to the hypothesis, iv infusion of saralasin in resting conscious eupneic dogs on a regular chow diet over a 4-h period had no effects on plasma strong ions, osmolality, acid-base balance, respiration, metabolism, or circulation when compared with similar control studies in the same animals. Thus, ANG II does not play a tonic modulatory role in respiratory control under "normal" physiological conditions.