Mechanism of the biphasic arteriolar response to angiotensin II

Male Sprague-Dawley rats (140-180 g) were anesthetized with alpha-chloralose and urethan. The cremaster muscle with intact blood supply and neural innervation was suspended in a tissue bath containing a modified Krebs solution. With the use of television microscopy the luminal diameters of third-order arterioles (14-32 micron) were measured before and after adding angiotensin II (ANG II, bath concn 10(-6) M). The arterioles responded to ANG II with an initial, transient constriction followed by a more prolonged dilation to a diameter larger than the control diameter. Pretreating the muscle with [Sar1, Ile8]ANG II significantly attenuated both the arteriolar constriction and subsequent dilation induced by ANG II. Treatment of the cremaster muscle with mefenamic acid or indomethacin, inhibitors of prostaglandin synthesis, produced a significant reduction in the diameter of the arterioles and abolished the dilator phase of the arteriolar response to ANG II without preventing the ANG II-induced constriction. These results demonstrate that within the intact microcirculation, ANG II produces both an arteriolar constriction and a dilation that are mediated by specific ANG II receptors. The ANG II-induced dilation of the arterioles appears to be caused by increased prostaglandin synthesis and release.