Comparison of the effects on renin release of beta adrenergic antagonists with differing properties

Continuous 6-h infusions of the beta adrenergic blockers d,l-propranolol or oxprenolol significantly reduced plasma renin activity (PRA) and mean blood pressure in the resting rabbit and prevented the stimulatory effects of isoproterenol on renin release and heart rate. These actions were due to blockade of beta receptors, for the inactive isomer, d-propranolol, had no effect. Despite sustained high plasma concentrations of d,l-propranolol (0.2 mug/ml) in the unstimulated animal, PRA did not fall below 36% of control values, suggesting that basal renin secretion is maintained partly by factors other than beta adrenergic mechanisms.Prindolol, another beta blocker, also abolished the effects of isoproterenol on renin and on the heart, and reduced blood pressure in the resting animal. However, prindolol increased resting PRA and heart rate, and in animals already receiving d,l-propranolol, it raised PRA and heart rate without further altering blood pressure. This suggests that the effect on PRA of prindolol was due to its intrinsic sympathomimetic activity and not hypotension-mediated mechanisms. The observation that the blood pressure-lowering effect of prindolol was associated with a rise in PRA, while another beta antagonist, H 35/25, lowered PRA but had no effect on blood pressure, indicates that the hypotensive action of beta blockers is unrelated to their effects on renin release. In both unstimulated and isoproterenol-challenged animals, only blockers possessing beta-1 receptor affinity (d,l-propranolol, oxprenolol, prindolol, practolol, and metoprolol) affected heart rate, while effects on PRA were more prominent with agents possessing beta-2 activity (d,l-propranolol, oxprenolol, prindolol, and H 35/25). Thus, the changes in PRA caused by the beta adrenergic blockers appear to be dependent upon the summation of their direct effects, antagonistic or sympathomimetic, on beta-2 adrenergic receptors regulating renin release.