Effect of angiotensin II infusion on glomerular angiotensin II receptor in rats

Previous studies by other investigators have shown that sodium depletion causes down-regulation of angiotensin II receptors in renal glomeruli, which is ascribed to elevation of circulating angiotensin II levels. The present study was designed to determine whether elevation of circulating angiotensin II levels alone can down-regulate its own receptors without changes in the sodium balance. Rats were infused with angiotensin II at 50 ng/min intraperitoneally for 24 h or 7 d, then glomeruli were isolated by a mechanical sieving technique and used in a radioreceptor assay for angiotensin II. Angiotensin II infusion for 24 h and for 7 d both significantly suppressed plasma renin activity, and elevated plasma angiotensin II level (3-fold) but did not affect the plasma sodium and potassium or differences between dietary intake and urinary excretion of these electrolytes. By Scatchard analyses significant down-regulation of angiotensin II receptor number was demonstrated in renal glomeruli derived from rats infused with angiotensin II for either 24 h (32% decrease from the control value) or 7 d (37% decrease). No significant changes in receptor affinity were observed after 24 h of angiotensin II infusion, although the infusion for 7 d slightly but significantly decreased Kd (to 2.57 +/- 0.08 nM from 3.17 +/- 0.19, P less than 0.01). From these results, we conclude that circulating angiotensin II level itself can regulate the number of its own receptors in renal glomeruli even in the absence of changes in the sodium balance.