Ouabain inhibits renin release by a direct renal haemodynamic effect

The effect of intrarenal infusion of ouabain (90 micrograms/kg) on renin release was examined in the anaesthetized dog. Ouabain reduced cortical Na-K-ATPase activity to 23% and outer medullary activity to 18% of the control level. During renal arterial constriction to a perfusion pressure below the autoregulatory range, renin release rose from 1.2 +/- 0.4 to 47.4 +/- 6.9 micrograms/min (P less than 0.001). This response was abolished by ouabain. When superimposed on renal arterial constriction, beta-adrenergic stimulation enhanced renin release from 25.6 +/- 10.7 to 56.9 +/- 9.5 micrograms/min (P = 0.02) at a urinary sodium excretion of 2 +/- 1 mumol/min. After ouabain, the corresponding increment substantially decreased since release rose from 5.6 +/- 2.0 to 19.9 +/- 5.3 micrograms/min only (P = 0.02), at a urinary sodium excretion of 140 +/- 67 mumol/min. When glomerular filtration was reduced to zero by ureteral occlusion in one series, renin release increased to 22.6 +/- 5.1 but was reduced (P less than 0.05) by ouabain to 13.5 +/- 5.5 micrograms/min and superimposed isoproterenol had no effect. According to these observations, ouabain inhibits renin release by a direct effect on the afferent arteriole through constriction of the autoregulating renin-secreting segment.