Reserpine but not surgical denervation regulates rat renal beta-adrenergic receptors

The effects of unilateral surgical denervation or reserpine administration on renal beta-adrenergic receptors were examined in rat kidney cortex. The specific binding of [125I]iodocyanopindolol was used to quantitate the beta-adrenoceptors. Denervation had no significant effect on beta-adrenoceptor concentration in denervated compared with contralateral control kidney, 7 days postsurgery. In contrast, reserpine treatment increased beta-adrenoceptor concentration 30% compared with control (P less than 0.05). Tissue norepinephrine levels were depleted to a significant extent with both manipulations. The reserpine effect was investigated further. Reserpine increased both beta 1- and beta 2-adrenergic receptor subtypes to the same extent. The effect of reserpine was primarily on tubular beta-adrenoceptors including those in the proximal tubules; glomerular beta-adrenoceptors were minimally affected by reserpine. Other adrenergic receptor subtypes (alpha 1- and alpha 2-) were also significantly increased by reserpine; however, angiotensin II receptors were not altered, indicating that the reserpine effect was not a general one affecting all membrane receptors. Reserpine treatment increased beta-adrenergic receptor-stimulated adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP) accumulation by 49% over control in the renal cortex. Denervation had no significant effect on cAMP accumulation. Overall, our results suggest that, in addition to sympathetic nerve terminal norepinephrine, other factors may be involved in the regulation of renal beta-adrenergic receptors.