Effects of central angiotensin II and angiotensin III on baroreflex regulation

In the present study the cardiovascular effects of intracerebroventricularly (i.c.v.) applied angiotensin II (AN II) and angiotensin III (AN III) were analysed in conscious Wistar rats. The baroreceptor heart reflex (BHR) was elicited by intravenous bolus injection of both phenylephrine (1 microgram) and sodium nitroprusside (5 micrograms) before and after i.c.v. administration (1.5 and 15 min) of the peptides. Administration of 20 ng and 200 ng AN II produced a short increase in inter-beat interval (IBI) and a long-lasting increase in mean blood pressure (MBP), inclusive of a drinking response. Only after the high dose of 200 ng AN II we found a continuous impairment in the BHR for reflex bradycardia. Inversely, the small doses of both 100 pg AN II and 100 pg AN III were without effects on IBI and MBP; they induced an enhancement in BHR for the reflex bradycardia and after 100 pg AN II it was also found for the reflex tachycardia. Pretreatment with 20 nmol amastatin (AM), a specified aminopeptidase A inhibitor, followed by 100 pg An II suppressed the enhancement in BHR. AM alone was without effects in this respect. These findings suggest that: 1) the influence of central angiotensin on the BHR could be dose-dependent in the opposite way and 2) AN III seems to be the active form and involved in the central blood pressure regulatory mechanism.