Enhanced endothelial cell adhesion of human cerebrospinal fluid lymphocytes.

Lymphocyte migration into a tissue depends on properties of both the lymphocyte and the tissue's vascular endothelium. The central nervous system (CNS) possesses a specialized microvasculature and lymphocytes appear to enter the CNS less readily than peripheral tissues. We investigated whether those lymphocytes that interact with the CNS, as represented by cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)-derived lymphocytes, express adhesive properties distinct from peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs). Adhesion of human lymphocytes to bovine endothelial cell monolayers was quantitated microscopically. A greater number of PBLs adhered to aortic than to retinal endothelial cell cultures (e.g., 10.9 +/- 0.6 and 4.5 +/- 0.2, respectively; p = 0.0023). Preincubation of either endothelial cell type with tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) enhanced lymphocyte adhesion. Activation of PBLs with concanavalin A or phytohemagglutinin increased endothelial cell adhesion and the effect was additive with that of TNF-alpha. The number of CSF lymphocytes adhering to endothelial cell cultures (retinal, 67.5 +/- 9.0; aortic, 83.7 +/- 10.6) was more than 10 times the number of PBLs (retinal, 5.4 +/- 0.8; aortic, 8.0 +/- 1.3; p < 0.0001). CSF lymphocytes did not, however, adhere preferentially to CNS-derived endothelial cell cultures. These results suggest that CSF may be enriched, compared with peripheral blood, in its content of surveillance lymphocytes, but that these cells might enter target tissues nonspecifically.

Adrenergic receptors on cerebral microvessels: pericyte contribution.

R224-R230, 1989.--[125I]iodocyanopindolol ([125I]ICYP) and [3H]rauwolscine were used to quantitate, respectively, the beta- and alpha 2-adrenergic receptors in freshly isolated bovine cerebral microvessels and in pericyte cultures derived from these microvessels. Morphological and immunocytochemical criteria distinguished the pericytes from endothelial cells. Competitive binding studies established the specificity of the radioligand binding. The maximal number of binding sites (Bmax) for [125I]ICYP in the pericytes constituted only 8% of that in the microvessels (3.5 +/- 1.3 vs. 44.4 +/- 6.6 fmol/mg protein). In contrast, the Bmax for [3H]rauwolscine in the pericytes was 50% of that in the microvessels (55.4 +/- 11.8 vs. 111.1 +/- 9.5 fmol/mg protein). The dissociation constants for both [125I]ICYP and [3H]rauwolscine were similar in the two preparations. No alpha 1-adrenergic receptors, as defined by the specific binding of [3H]prazosin, were identified either in the pericytes or microvessels. Overall, our results suggest that pericytes contribute minimally to the total beta-adrenoceptor number of cerebral microvessels, and thus the beta-adrenoceptors must be located predominantly on endothelial cells. However, the contribution of pericytes to the total alpha 2-adrenoceptor number of the microvessels may be substantial.

Salt and water intake in Brattleboro rats with hypothalamic diabetes insipidus.

Brattleboro rats lacking vasopressin have an elevated plasma osmolality and a stimulated renin-angiotensin system relative to Long-Evans rats (LE). The current studies were performed to elucidate the factors controlling water and salt intake in the Brattleboro rat with diabetes insipidus (DI). DI and LE rats were given the choice of water and saline solutions ranging from 0.1-1.0% to assess palatability, dialyzed with isotonic glucose to test for sodium appetite after sodium depletion, and infused intracranially with an angiotensin II analogue (saralasin) to assess the role of angiotensin II in spontaneous salt and water intake. DI rats exhibited spontaneous salt intake which was not significantly different from LE rats and increased their intake of 3.0% NaCl following sodium depletion, although less reliably than LE rats. A significant proportion of those DI rats not developing a sodium appetite showed attenuation of their diabetes following dialysis. No evidence for involvement of angiotensin II in spontaneous salt and water intake was found.

The effect of captopril on sodium appetite in adrenalectomized and deoxycorticosterone-treated rats.

Captopril caused a renin-dependent increase in water intake in rats with bilateral ureteric ligation. But despite the fluid retention and fall in osmolality caused by the increased water intake, rats with ureteric ligation did not drink the 2.7% NaCl also offered to them. In rats with a pre-existing increase in sodium appetite caused by adrenalectomy, low dosage of captopril augmented intake of both water and 2.7% NaCl whereas high dosage inhibited intake of both fluids after an initial increase in water intake. In contrast, rats with a pre-existing increase in sodium appetite caused by daily injections of deoxycorticosterone showed no changes in intake of water or 2.7% NaCl after either low or high dosage of captopril, though they drank both fluids after intracranial injection of angiotensin II. Increases in water and 2.7% NaCl intake caused by low dosage of captopril in adrenalectomized rats were not secondary to increased urinary fluid and electrolyte losses. Decreases in intake after high dosage were not explained by the rats being too weak to drink. Low and high dosage of captopril caused increases in plasma renin concentration in adrenalectomized rats, but in contrast renin remained undetectable in the plasma of deoxycorticosterone-treated rats after the highest dosage of captopril. Whether or not captopril affected a pre-existing sodium appetite depended on whether or not it increased plasma renin. Since it affected the pre-existing sodium appetite and plasma renin in the adrenalectomized rat but neither of these in the deoxycorticosterone-treated rat, it is likely that the appetite was renin-dependent in the former but not in the latter. Because captopril only affected thirst in the rat with ligated ureters whereas it affected both sodium appetite and thirst in the adrenalectomized rat, increases in renal renin secretion alone may not be enough to stimulate sodium appetite. The additional stimulus provided by adrenalectomy, or the absence of some inhibitory factor that may be present after ureteric ligation, is also needed.

Involvement of the renin-angiotensin system in captopril-induced sodium appetite in the rat.

The angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor, captopril, given to rats in their drinking water (about 40 mg/day) for 6 days caused an increase in intake of hypertonic NaCl solution which began 1-2 days after the captopril was started and reached a plateau after 4-5 days. Twice-daily subcutaneous injections of captopril (15 mg per injection) elicited a sodium appetite similar in pattern to that seen with oral administration. The rats remained in sodium and fluid balance during oral captopril treatment and the haematocrit did not alter. Captopril infused directly into the ventricles (12 micrograms/h), or captopril reaching the brain from the periphery across a leaky blood-brain barrier, suppressed the sodium appetite which normally follows oral captopril. Continuous intravenous infusion of captopril at rates high enough to block angiotensin converting enzyme in the brain (25, 50 or 500 mg/day) did not cause sodium appetite. As soon as the rate was reduced to a low value (5 mg/day), NaCl intake increased. In conclusion, moderate levels of circulating captopril which do not cross the blood-brain barrier in sufficient amounts to block cerebral angiotensin converting enzyme, result in an increase in circulating angiotensin I which stimulates sodium appetite when it is converted to angiotension II in the brain.

Renin dependence of captopril-induced drinking after ureteric ligation in the rat.

In experiments lasting 8 h, low (0.5 mg kg-1) or medium (5 mg kg-1) subcutaneous doses of the angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor captopril were mildly dipsogenic in sham-operated rats, much more so in rats subjected to bilateral ureteric ligation and not at all in bilaterally nephrectomized rats. Rats with ligated ureters drank enough water to gain weight during the experiments. All other groups lost weight. The enhanced responsiveness of rats with ligated ureters, despite fluid retention, shows that captopril-induced drinking was not secondary to increased renal fluid loss. Ureteric ligation alone which caused some increase in renin secretion was mildly dipsogenic compared with sham operation. Captopril caused further increases in plasma renin concentration and more drinking suggesting that the captopril response is renin-dependent. The failure of the nephrectomized rat to drink after captopril also shows that the response is renin-dependent. The highest dose (50 mg kg-1) of captopril did not at first stimulate drinking, though water intake increased later. Slowness to drink was not the result of general depression of behaviour since drinking in response to subcutaneous hypertonic NaCl or intracranial angiotensin II was not inhibited by the highest dose. Slowness to drink after the highest dose was attributable to blockade of converting enzyme centrally as well as peripherally. This meant that the increased circulating angiotensin I resulting from peripheral blockade of converting enzyme was only slowly converted to angiotensin II in the brain. When cerebral conversion of angiotensin I was prevented by a single intracranial injection of 25 micrograms captopril, drinking in response to the lower doses of captopril was also inhibited in normal rats and in rats with ligated ureters. The same intracranial dose of captopril also inhibited drinking in response to intracranial injections of renin or angiotensin I, but not angiotensin II. The time course of inhibition of renin-induced drinking was similar to that of inhibition of subcutaneous captopril-induced drinking. In conclusion, subcutaneous captopril causes increased water intake through activation of the renal renin-angiotensin system, an effect that is enhanced when the system has already been partly activated by ureteric ligation. Increased circulating angiotensin I resulting from blockade of peripheral converting enzyme must be converted to angiotensin II in the brain in order to stimulate drinking. Drinking is not the consequence of increased fluid loss.

Angiotensin does contribute to drinking induced by caval ligation in rat.

In small (0.5 mg/kg) subcutaneous doses, the angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor, captopril, greatly enhanced drinking in response to caval ligation in the rat. Drinking was not secondary to urinary water loss since the rats developed a substantial positive fluid balance. High (50 mg/kg) subcutaneous doses of captopril reduced drinking to a level below that following caval ligation alone. This effect could be mimicked by giving repeated intracerebroventricular injections of captopril (total amount 110 micrograms) to rats treated with the lower subcutaneous dose of captopril. With this combination, therefore, not only did the lower dose enhancement disappear, the basal caval ligation drinking response was also reduced with a total dose of captopril of less than 2% of the higher subcutaneous dose alone. These results show that, when conversion of angiotensin I to angiotensin II is prevented in the brain as well as systemically, drinking in response to caval ligation is reduced although not entirely prevented. The original report that such drinking is multifactorial, depending on angiotensin as well as nonangiotensin mechanisms, is confirmed.

The site of the dipsogenic action of angiotensin II in the North American opossum.

Adult North American opossums (Didelphis virginiana), predominantly nocturnal water drinkers, were found to respond by drinking to water deprivation, cellular dehydration produced by intravenous infusion of hypertonic saline, and to both intravenous and intracerebroventricular administration of angiotensin II (AII). By taking advantage of the absence of the corpus callosum, an anatomical characteristic of the marsupial, we removed the subfornical organ and implanted a cannula into the anterior third ventricle under direct visual guidance. In these animals: (1) spontaneous drinking, and responses to water deprivation and cellular dehydration were unaffected; (2) after a postoperative period of unresponlsiveness, attenuated and unreliable responses only to high doses of intracerebroventricular AII could be elicited; and (3) the dipsogenic effect of intravenous AII was abolished. We conclude that the subfornical organ is necessary for the physiologically appropriate effect of AII on drinking but that, in the absence of the subfornical organ, the brain can mediate the dipsogenic effect of intracranially administered AII, although the physiological significance of the latter phenomenon is unclear.