Norepinephrine uptake by rat jejunum: modulation by angiotensin II

Angiotensin II (ANG II) is believed to stimulate sodium and water absorption from the small intestine by enhancing sympathetic nerve transmission. This study is designed to determine whether ANG II can enhance sympathetic neurotransmission within the small intestine by inhibiting norepinephrine (NE) uptake. Intracellular NE accumulation by rat jejunum was concentration dependent and resolved into high- and low-affinity components. The high-affinity component (uptake 1) exhibited a Michaelis constant (Km) of 1.72 microM and a maximum velocity (Vmax) of 1.19 nmol.g-1.10 min-1. The low-affinity component (uptake 2) exhibited a Km of 111.1 microM and a Vmax of 37.1 nmol.g-1.10 min-1. Cocaine, an inhibitor of neuronal uptake, inhibited the intracellular accumulation of label by 80%. Treatment of animals with 6-hydroxydopamine, which depletes norepinephrine from sympathetic terminals, also attenuated NE uptake by 60%. Thus accumulation within sympathetic nerves constitutes the major form of [3H]NE uptake into rat jejunum. ANG II inhibited intracellular [3H]NE uptake in a concentration-dependent manner. At a dose of 1 mM, ANG II inhibited intracellular [3H]NE accumulation by 60%. Cocaine failed to potentiate the inhibition of [3H]NE uptake produced by ANG II. Thus ANG II appears to prevent [3H]NE accumulation within rat jejunum by inhibiting neuronal uptake.