Role of the brain iso-renin--angiotensin system in experimental hypertension in rats

1. To examine the possible participation of the brain iso-renin-angiotensin system in the control of blood pressure, as well as in the regulation of plasma renin activity, saralasin and captopril were injected into the cerebral ventricles of three types of experimental hypertensive rats with different plasma renin profiles. 2. Injection of saralasin and captopril into the cerebral ventricles resulted in a significant decrease in blood pressure of two-kidney, one-clip Goldblatt hypertensive rats (11 +/- 2 and 9 +/- 3 mmHg respectively) and that of spontaneously hypertensive rats (13 +/- 2 and 12 +/- 2 mmHg respectively), but in deoxycorticosterone (DOC)-salt hypertensive rats injection of these two agents showed a significant increase in blood pressure (13 +/- 2 and 12 +/- 3 mmHg respectively). 3. The plasma renin activity was markedly decreased after injection of saralasin and captopril into the cerebral ventricles of two-kidney, one-clip Goldblatt hypertensive rats. Conversely, in DOC-salt hypertensive rats, the plasma renin activity was markedly increased after injection of these two agents. In spontaneously hypertensive rats these agents caused no significant change in plasma renin activity. 4. These findings suggest that the brain iso-renin-angiotensin system participates in the central regulation of blood pressure and may be responsible for modulation of the peripheral renin-angiotensin system.