Catecholamine response to chronic angiotensin ii infusion and its role in myocyte and coronary vascular damage. Henegar, Jeffrey R., Gregory L. Brower, Ameer Kabour, Joseph S. Janicki. Department of Internal Medicine and Dalton Cardiovascular Research Center, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, U.S.A.
APStracts 2:0178H, 1995.
Acute elevations in circulating angiotensin II (AngII) are known to increase circulating norepinephrine (NE) levels. However, the time -course of catecholamine release relative to chronic AngII infusion is not known. Furthermore, it is unknown if this AngII-induced catecholamine release is AngII type 1 (AT1 ) receptor mediated and whether the increase in serum catecholamines is responsible for the myocyte and coronary vascular damage seen within the first 3 days of chronic AngII infusion. Therefore, we examined the influence of chronic AngII stimulation on serum catecholamine levels with and without AT1 blockade and the effect of -blockade on AngII-induced myocyte and coronary vascular damage. The results indicate that NE release is AT1 mediated, but NE is not significantly elevated until day 4 of AngII infusion after which it remains elevated. blockade prevented most AngII related myocyte necrosis and coronary vascular damage. Therefore, myocyte and coronary vascular damage do not appear to be related to increased serum NE levels but instead may be due to the release of neural catecholamines within the heart.

Received 15 February 1995; accepted in final form 24 April 1995.
APS Manuscript Number H142-5.
Article publication pending Am. J. Physiol. (Heart Circ. Physiology).
ISSN 1080-4757 Copyright 1995 The American Physiological Society.
Published in APStracts on  9 May 1995.