The role of aldosterone in mediating the dependence of angiotensin hypertension on IL-6.

Knockout (KO) of IL-6 has been shown to attenuate ANG II hypertension, and mineralocorticoid receptors (MR) have been reported to contribute to the increase in IL-6 during acute ANG II infusion. This study determined whether that MR action is sustained with chronic ANG II infusion and whether it plays a role in mediating ANG II hypertension. ANG II infusion (90 ng/min) increased plasma IL-6 from 1.6 +/- 0.6 to 22.7 +/- 2.2 and 19.9 +/- 3.2 pg/ml on days 7 and 14, respectively, and chronic MR blockade with spironolactone attenuated that only at day 7 (7.2 +/- 2.2 pg/ml). ANG II increased MAP (19 h/day with telemetry) approximately 40 mmHg, but in ANG II+spironolactone mice (25 or 50 mg*kg(-1)*day(-1)), mean arterial pressure (MAP) was not significantly different despite a tendency for lower pressure the first 6 days. To isolate further the mineralocorticoid link to IL-6 and blood pressure, DOCA-salt hypertension was induced in IL-6 KO and wild-type (WT) mice. Plasma IL-6 increased from 4.1 +/- 1.7 to 34.5 +/- 7.0 pg/ml by day 7 of DOCA treatment in the WT mice but was back to control levels by day 14. An IL-6 bioassay using the murine B9, B-cell hybridoma cell line demonstrated that plasma IL-6 measurements reflected actual IL-6 bioactivity. The hypertension was not different and virtually superimposable in WT vs. IL-6 KO mice, averaging 145 +/- 2 and 144 +/- 3 mmHg, respectively. Both experiments confirm chronic stimulation of IL-6 by mineralocorticoids but show that it is transient. In addition, IL-6 was not required for mineralocorticoid hypertension. This suggests that aldosterone contributes to the increase in plasma IL-6 in the early stage of ANG II hypertension but that the blood pressure actions of IL-6 in that model are linked most likely to ANG II rather than aldosterone.

TNF-alpha knockout mice have increased corpora cavernosa relaxation.

INTRODUCTION: Erectile dysfunction is considered an early clinical manifestation of vascular disease and an independent risk factor for cardiovascular events associated with endothelial dysfunction and increased levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), a pro-inflammatory cytokine, suppresses endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) expression. AIM: Considering that nitric oxide (NO) is of critical importance in penile erection, we hypothesized that blockade of TNF-alpha actions would increase cavernosal smooth muscle relaxation. METHODS: In vitro organ bath studies were used to measure cavernosal reactivity in wild type and TNF-alpha knockout (TNF-alpha KO) mice and NOS expression was evaluated by western blot. In addition, spontaneous erections (in vivo) were evaluated by videomonitoring the animals (30 minutes). Collagen and elastin expression were evaluated by Masson trichrome and Verhoff-van Gieson stain reaction, respectively. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Corpora cavernosa from TNF-alpha KO mice exhibited increased NO-dependent relaxation, which was associated with increased eNOS and neuronal NOS (nNOS) cavernosal expression. RESULTS: Cavernosal strips from TNF-alpha KO mice displayed increased endothelium-dependent (97.4 +/- 5.3 vs. CONTROL: 76.3 +/- 6.3, %) and nonadrenergic-noncholinergic (93.3 +/- 3.0 vs. CONTROL: 67.5 +/- 16.0; 16 Hz) relaxation compared to control animals. These responses were associated with increased protein expression of eNOS and nNOS (P < 0.05). Sympathetic-mediated (0.69 +/- 0.16 vs. CONTROL: 1.22 +/- 0.22; 16 Hz) as well as phenylephrine-induced contractile responses (1.6 +/- 0.1 vs. CONTROL: 2.5 +/- 0.1, mN) were attenuated in cavernosal strips from TNF-alpha KO mice. Additionally, corpora cavernosa from TNF-alpha KO mice displayed increased collagen and elastin expression. In vivo experiments demonstrated that TNF-alpha KO mice display increased number of spontaneous erections. CONCLUSION: Corpora cavernosa from TNF-alpha KO mice display alterations that favor penile tumescence, indicating that TNF-alpha plays a detrimental role in erectile function. A key role for TNF-alpha in mediating endothelial dysfunction in ED is markedly relevant since we now have access to anti-TNF-alpha therapies.

Lack of blood pressure salt-sensitivity supports a preglomerular site of action of nitric oxide in Type I diabetic rats.

1. The relationship between sodium intake and blood pressure is affected differently by changes in angiotensin (Ang) II and preglomerular resistance, and this study measured that relationship to evaluate the link between nitric oxide and blood pressure early in diabetes. 2. Rats were chronically instrumented, placed on high-sodium (HS = 12 mEq/d) or low-sodium (LS = 0.07 mEq/d) intake diets and assigned to either vehicle- (V) or Nomega-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester- (L-NAME; L) treated groups. Mean arterial pressure (MAP) was measured 18 h/day for a 6-day control and 14-day streptozotocin diabetic period in each animal. 3. The MAP of the control period averaged 95 +/- 1 and 94 +/- 1 mmHg in the LSV and HSV rats and 116 +/- 2 and 124 +/- 1 mmHg in the LSL and HSL rats, respectively (LSL vs HSL was significant at P < 0.05). Diabetes increased MAP only in the LSL and HSL rats to 141 +/- 2 mmHg and 152 +/- 2, respectively, similar to our previous reports, and those respective 25 and 28 mmHg increases were a parallel shift in the pressure natriuresis relationship. However, the apparent difference between the LSL and HSL groups when compared was a parallel of the control MAP difference. Plasma renin activity (PRA) in the control period averaged 1.5 +/- 0.5 and 8.1 +/- 1.8 ng AI/mL per h in the HSV and LSV rats, and 0.8 +/- 0.2 and 2.8 +/- 0.5 ng AI/mL per h in the HSL and LSL rats, respectively, and increased similarly by 4.6-fold in the HSL and 4.8-fold in the LSL rats during diabetes. Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) increased in the vehicle but not the L-NAME-treated groups, consistent with our previous reports. 4. Thus, the hypertension caused by the onset of diabetes in L-NAME-treated rats was not salt-sensitive. The normal modulation of PRA by salt intake and the failure of GFR to increase are consistent with our hypothesis that nitric oxide may protect against hypertension early in diabetes by preventing preglomerular vasoconstriction by AngII.

Blood pressure early in diabetes depends on a balance between glomerular filtration rate and the renin-angiotensin system.

Onset of diabetes increases plasma renin activity (PRA) and glomerular filtration rate (GFR), but blood pressure (BP) is normal. In this study, a 70% surgical reduction in kidney mass (RK) was used to decrease baseline GFR and to prevent hyperfiltration during diabetes, and angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI) were used to inhibit angiotensin II (AngII) production, to test the hypothesis that a balance between GFR and AngII is required for normal BP early in diabetes. Diabetes was induced with streptozotocin (STZ) (35 mg/kg intravenously); and after 7 days of hyperglycemia (range: 408 to 486 mg/dL), insulin was intravenously infused continuously for a 4-day normoglycemic recovery period. In normal kidney (NK) rats, diabetes increased PRA (2.4 +/- 0.6 to 4.6 +/- 0.5 ngAI/mL/h) and GFR (2.9 +/- 0.1 to 3.5 +/- 0.2 mL/min), and there was no change in mean arterial pressure (MAP) (89 +/- 1 v 91 +/- 1 mm Hg, measured 18 h/day). There was no change in either GFR or AngII during diabetes in RK+ACEI rats, and their MAP also did not change. Thus, the maintenance of normal MAP was accompanied by a balance between GFR and AngII in both of those groups. In NK+ACEI rats, however, GFR increased significantly with no change in AngII, and MAP decreased significantly during diabetes by approximately 8 mm Hg. In RK rats, PRA increased (0.5 +/- 0.1 to 2.6 +/- 0.5) but GFR did not increase, and MAP increased significantly by approximately 16 mm Hg. All rats were in sodium balance by day 4 of diabetes. These data support the hypothesis that normotension early in diabetes requires a balance between the increased AngII and GFR, and that BP will increase if AngII increases but GFR does not.

Angiotensin II hypertension is attenuated in interleukin-6 knockout mice.

Plasma levels of IL-6 correlate with high blood pressure under many circumstances, and ANG II has been shown to stimulate IL-6 production from various cell types. This study tested the role of IL-6 in mediating the hypertension caused by high-dose ANG II and a high-salt diet. Male C57BL6 and IL-6 knockout (IL-6 KO) mice were implanted with biotelemetry devices and placed in metabolic cages to measure mean arterial pressure (MAP), heart rate (HR), sodium balance, and urinary albumin excretion. Baseline MAP during the control period averaged 114 +/- 1 and 109 +/- 1 mmHg for wild-type (WT) and IL-6 KO mice, respectively, and did not change significantly when the mice were placed on a high-salt diet (HS; 4% NaCl). ANG II (90 ng/min sc) caused a rapid increase in MAP in both groups, to 141 +/- 9 and 141 +/- 4 in WT and KO mice, respectively, on day 2. MAP plateaued at this level in KO mice (134 +/- 2 mmHg on day 14 of ANG II) but began to increase further in WT mice by day 4, reaching an average of 160 +/- 4 mmHg from days 10 to 14 of ANG II. Urinary albumin excretion on day 4 of ANG II was not different between groups (9.18 +/- 4.34 and 8.53 +/- 2.85 microg/2 days for WT and KO mice). By day 14, albumin excretion was nearly fourfold greater in WT mice, but MAP dropped rapidly back to control levels in both groups when the ANG II was stopped after 14 days. Thus the approximately 30 mmHg greater ANG II hypertension in the WT mice suggests that IL-6 contributes significantly to ANG II-salt hypertension. In addition, the early separation in MAP, the albumin excretion data, and the rapid, post-ANG II recovery of MAP suggest an IL-6-dependent mechanism that is independent of renal injury.