Antihypertensive actions of angiotensin-(1-7) in spontaneously hypertensive rats

Observations that angiotensin-(1-7) [ANG-(1-7)] may oppose the vasoconstrictor actions of angiotensin II (ANG II) prompted an investigation of the effects of the heptapeptide on the maintenance of elevated blood pressure in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). ANG-(1-7) (24 micrograms.kg-1.h-1) was infused into the jugular vein of 13-wk-old SHR (n = 64), Wistar-Kyoto (WKY, n = 50), and Sprague-Dawley (SD, n = 18) rats for 2 wk, with the use of osmotic minipumps. Blood pressure, fluid and electrolyte balance, plasma vasopressin, and urinary excretion of prostaglandin E2 and 6-ketoprostaglandin F1 alpha (6-keto-PGF1 alpha) were measured at days 2, 7, and 12 of the infusion. In SHR, ANG-(1-7) caused a sustained and significant reduction in plasma vasopressin concentration that was associated with an increase in urinary prostaglandin E2 and 6-keto-PGF1 alpha excretion at day 2 after the commencement of the infusion. These changes were accompanied by diuresis and natriuresis during the first 3 days of infusion in SHR but not in WKY or SD rats. Direct measurements of arterial pressure confirmed the lowering effect of ANG-(1-7) on systolic pressure of SHR on day 2 of treatment with a restoration of the pressure by days 7 and 12. These findings, along with our previous demonstration that ANG-(1-7) is an active depressor peptide in the intact animal, suggest that ANG-(1-7) may play a significant role as a vasodepressor system opposing the hemodynamic actions of ANG II in this genetic form of experimental hypertension.