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Effect of prenatal dexamethasone on postnatal serum and urinary angiotensin II levels

Amit Dagan1, Jyothsna Gattineni, Sabeen Habib

  • 1Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, TX, USA.

American Journal of Hypertension
|January 16, 2010
PubMed

Insights

Prenatal dexamethasone exposure in rats leads to elevated urine angiotensin II levels, suggesting this peptide plays a role in developing hypertension. This finding offers insight into the mechanisms of prenatal programming of blood pressure.

Area of Science:

  • Endocrinology
  • Nephrology
  • Developmental Biology

Background:

  • Prenatal programming can lead to hypertension in offspring.
  • The exact mechanisms behind this phenomenon remain unclear.
  • Animal models are crucial for investigating these developmental origins of disease.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of angiotensin II in hypertension development.
  • To determine if angiotensin II contributes to the generation or maintenance of high blood pressure.
  • To explore the effects of prenatal dexamethasone exposure on angiotensin II levels.

Main Methods:

  • Male rats were exposed to dexamethasone in utero during critical gestational periods.
  • Systemic and urinary levels of angiotensin II were measured at 4 and 8 weeks of age.
  • Renal angiotensin II levels and urine angiotensin II/Creatinine ratios were analyzed.

Main Results:

  • Offspring exposed to prenatal dexamethasone showed normal plasma renin and angiotensin II levels.
  • Renal angiotensin II levels were similar between exposed and control groups.
  • Significantly higher urine angiotensin II/Creatinine ratios were observed in the dexamethasone-exposed group.

Conclusions:

  • Elevated urinary angiotensin II suggests a role for luminal angiotensin II in hypertension.
  • This finding implicates angiotensin II in the generation and maintenance of hypertension.
  • Luminal angiotensin II may be a key factor in prenatal programming of hypertension.
Abstract

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