Central angiotensin II and PGE2 act independently to increase blood pressure in conscious sheep

Abstract

Conscious adult female sheep chronically prepared with nonocclusive indwelling vascular and cerebroventricular catheters were used to determine whether centrally administered prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) increases blood pressure by activation of the brain renin angiotensin system or whether centrally administered angiotensin II (ANG II) increases blood pressure by stimulating prostaglandin synthesis in the brain. Intracerebroventricular (ivt) ANG II, 50 ng X kg-1 X min-1, increased arterial pressure 23 mmHg (P less than 0.01) 30 min after the start of infusion. Infusion of the ANG II antagonist [Sar1-Thr8]ANG II (sarthran), 1,000 ng X kg-1 X min-1 ivt, had no effect on arterial pressure when given by itself but reduced the ivt ANG II-induced pressor response to 5 mmHg (P less than 0.05) when the two peptides were infused at the same time. Intracerebroventricular infusion of sarthran did not alter the pressor responses to intracarotid (ic) PGE2 or to ivt PGE2. Blood pressure increased 21 mmHg (P less than 0.01) 30 min after the start of PGE2 infusion when PGE2 was given ic by itself, compared with 17 mmHg (P less than 0.01) when PGE2 was given ic at the same time as sarthran was given ivt. Blood pressure increased 14 mmHg (P less than 0.01) 30 min after the start of PGE2 infusion when PGE2 was given ivt by itself, compared with 16 mmHg (P less than 0.01) when PGE2 was given ivt at the same time as sarthran was given ivt. Pretreatment with the cyclooxygenase inhibitors indomethacin, 4 mg/kg sc, or flunixin meglumine, 3 mg/kg iv, did not alter the ivt ANG II-induced pressor response.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)