Effect of various angiotensin receptor antagonists on cardiovascular responses to angiotensin II in pithed rats

The effects of four nonpeptide angiotensin receptor antagonists, i.e., losartan (AT1) PD123177 (AT2), and 4'-[(2-n-butyl-6-cyclohexylaminocarbonylamino-benzimidazole-1-yl)- methyl]biphenyl-carboxylic acid (BIBS 39; AT1 and AT2), and 2-n-butyl-1-[4-(6-carboxy-2,5-di-chlorbenzoylamino)-benzyl]-6-N- (methylaminocarbonyl)-n-pentylamino-benzimidazole (BIBS 222; AT1 and AT2) on cardiovascular responses to angiotensin II (AII) were investigated in propranolol-pretreated pithed rats. AII (0.01-10 nmol/kg intravenously, i.v.) induced a dose-dependent increase in diastolic blood pressure (DBP), the rate of increase in left ventricular pressure (LVdP/dtmax), cardiac output (CO), and total peripheral resistance (TPR) without changing LV end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP) or heart rate (HR). Losartan 3 and 10 mg/kg i.v. caused dose-dependent parallel rightward shifts of the dose-response curves (DBP and LVdP/dtmax) without altering the maximal responses to AII. PD123177 (100 mg/kg i.v.) did not influence the dose-response curves for AII significantly. BIBS 39 (1, 3, and 10 mg/kg i.v.) and BIBS 222 (1, 3, and 10 mg/kg, i.v.) shifted the dose-response curves (DBP and LVdP/dtmax) for AII to the right. Although these two compounds (BIBS 39 1, 3, and 10 mg/kg and BIBS 222 1 and 3 mg/kg) did not alter the maximal increase in DBP to angiotensin AII, they decreased the maximal increase in LVdP/dtmax by approximately 35%. BIBS 39 (3 and 10 mg/kg) significantly reduced the increase in CO caused by AII and therefore mean arterial pressure (MAP), whereas the AII-induced increase in TPR remained unchanged.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)