[Phosphoinositide metabolism in essential and experimental hypertension]

The metabolism of phosphoinositides, a class of membrane lipids that appears to be intimately involved in the regulation by the membrane of the intracellular Ca2+ level, has been reported to be modified in the erythrocyte of the spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR and SHR/SP). In order to elucidate the link between the phosphoinositide alteration and hypertension, the metabolism of phosphoinositides was studied in human essential hypertension and in Sabra rats under various patho-physiological conditions. Experiments were performed in vitro on isolated ghost membranes by measuring the radioactivity incorporated into triphosphoinositides (PI-P2) and diphosphoinositides (PI-P) following the incubation of membranes with [gamma 32P]-ATP. 32P-PI-P2, in moderate untreated essential hypertensive controls (n = 31) was higher than in normotensives (n = 30) (1.18 +/- 0.06 vs 0.92 +/- 0.04, 32P nmol/15 min/mg prot, p less than 0.005); 32P-PI-P2 and 32P-PI-P in hypertensive patients treated with beta-blocking agents (n = 20) did not differ from the values observed in untreated hypertensives. In Sabra rats, 32P-PI-P2 values were 0.79 +/- 0.03 and 1.32 +/- 0.08 for SbN and SbH, respectively (8-11 animals per group); difference was significant. 32P-PI-P values varied similarly. Both 32P-PI-P2 and 32P-PI-P did not change significantly when animals were fed a high sodium diet or were injected with DOCA, though such treatments rose the blood pressure. Our data indicate that the modification of phosphoinositide metabolism that we observed both in rat and human hypertension is not a consequence of the blood pressure elevation, but may be considered as an intrinsic membrane defect. Changes in the phosphoinositide metabolism may therefore be associated with the functional and structural alterations concerning the transmembrane Na+ and Ca2+ fluxes which may be of pathogenic importance.