Water deprivation upregulates angiotensin ii at1 receptors and their mrna in rat subfornical organ and anterior pituitary. Sanvitto, Gilberto L., Olaf J[diaeresis]ohren, Walter H[umlaut]auser, Juan M. Saavedra. Section on Pharmacology, Laboratory of Clinical Science, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
APStracts 4:0078E, 1997.
We studied angiotensin II (Ang II) receptor subtype expression in selected brain nuclei and pituitary gland after water deprivation by in vitro receptor autoradiography using [125I]Sar1-Ang II and by in situ hybridization using 35S-labeled AT1A, AT1B, and AT2 receptor specific riboprobes. In control rats we found binding to AT1 receptors in the subfornical organ, paraventricular nuclei, median eminence, and anterior pituitary, AT1A mRNA expression in the subfornical organ and paraventricular nuclei and AT1B mRNA expression in the anterior pituitary. No receptor mRNA was found in the median eminence. AT1 receptors and AT1A receptor mRNA levels were increased in the subfornical organ, and, in the anterior pituitary, AT1 receptors and AT1B receptor mRNA were increased, only after five days of water deprivation. No significant changes occurred after one or three days of water deprivation and no regulation of Ang II receptor expression was detected in other brain areas. Our results show that prolonged water deprivation selectively regulates AT1 receptor expression and AT1A and AT1B receptor mRNA levels in the subfornical organ and anterior pituitary, respectively, supporting a role for these receptors during sustained dehydration.

Received 12 September 1996; accepted in final form 20 March 1997.
APS Manuscript Number E459-6.
Article publication pending Am. J. Physiol. (Endocrinol. Metab.).
ISSN 1080-4757 Copyright 1997 The American Physiological Society.
Published in APStracts on 15 April 1997