Effect of sodium intake on brain angiotensin-converting enzyme activity in spontaneously hypertensive rat.
The effect of sodium intake on angiotensin-converting enzyme activity in five areas of the brain (the cerebral cortex, midbrain, striatum, thalamus and hypothalamus) was studied in normotensive, spontaneously hypertensive and stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats. The enzyme activity was significantly higher in the hypothalamus than in other areas of the brain of spontaneously hypertensive rats. Sodium intake resulted in a significant rise of the enzyme activity in the midbrain of spontaneously hypertensive rats and also in the midbrain and the striatum of stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats. In normotensive rats, however, there was no significant difference in the enzyme activity in any area of brain between the control and the salt-treated group. It is likely therefore that a high circulating sodium level increases angiotensin-converting enzyme content of the brain in spontaneously hypertensive rats, and it is suggested that the increased converting-enzyme activity may play a role in development of hypertension induced by sodium loading.
D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000201:enzymology*; D005260:Female; D006973:Hypertension / Q000201:enzymology*; D007703:Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A / Q000032:analysis*; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D012964:Sodium / Q000494:pharmacology*
D012964:Sodium; D007703:Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A