Aldosterone secretion and adrenal angiotensin II receptors in the Brattleboro rat

The basal secretion of aldosterone, measured in adrenal venous blood, was three- to fourfold lower in Brattleboro than in Long-Evans rats used as controls. Infusion of a low dose of angiotensin II (1 ng/min per 100 g body/wt) to Long-Evans rats caused a fourfold increase in aldosterone release but neither the low dose nor a tenfold higher dose changed the rate of release in Brattleboro rats. Only a very high dose (300 ng/min per 100 g body wt) succeeded in increasing the secretion of aldosterone in Brattleboro rats but throughout the time-course of the infusion, secretion remained about fivefold lower than in Long-Evans rats and the incremental response was reduced by 74.9%. Adrenal zona glomerulosa angiotensin II receptor sites had similar affinity and maximum binding capacity in the two groups of rats. It is suggested that the reduced corticosteroidogenic capacity of the adrenal cortex of Brattleboro rats results from an impairment of the post-receptor mechanisms involved in the biosynthesis of aldosterone.