The purpose of the present study was to identify the angiotensin II-receptor subtype involved in the enhancement of the amplitude of the phasic contractions by angiotensin II in the isolated rat portal vein preparation. At an extracellular Ca2+ concentration of 0.9 mmol/l and a K+ concentration of 4 mmol/l, angiotensin II induced concentration-dependent increases in the amplitude of the phasic contractions. The enhancement of phasic contraction amplitude caused by angiotensin II was not significantly altered by pretreatment of the rat portal vein with indomethacin 10(-5) mol/l or nitro-L-arginine 10(-4) mol/l, indicating that neither prostaglandins nor the endothelium derived-relaxing factor (NO) are involved. Losartan (DuP 753), a nonpeptide selective AT1-receptor antagonist, concentration-dependently shifted the concentration-response curve for the effect of angiotensin II on the amplitude of the contractions to the right, without reducing the maximal response (pA2 = 8.6, slope = 0.98), thus suggesting competitive antagonism at the level of AT1-receptors. By contrast, PD 123,177, a nonpeptide selective AT2-receptor antagonist, even at 10(-5) mol/l, caused no significant change of the phasic myogenic response to angiotensin II, indicating the absence of AT2-receptor involvement. Dithiothreitol, a disulfide-reducing agent which is known to inactivate AT1-receptors in various tissues, markedly inhibited (3 mmol/l) or even abolished (5 mmol/l) the contractile response of the rat portal vein to angiotensin II, supporting the conclusion that these receptors can be classified as AT1-receptors.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

The influence of vascular endothelium on angiotensin II-induced contraction and the underlying mechanisms in the rabbit renal artery were investigated. In endothelium-intact preparations, angiotensin II (3-100 nM) caused a concentration-dependent increase in tension by maximally (Emax) 0.74 +/- 0.05 g. Removal of the endothelium significantly enhanced the angiotensin II-induced contractions (Emax: 3.91 +/- 0.19 g). Indomethacin (10 microM) did not influence the angiotensin II-induced contractions. Methylene blue (10 microM) and NG-methyl-l-arginine (L-NMMA, 5 microM) significantly enhanced angiotensin II-induced contractions by 418 +/- 29% and 200 +/- 14%, respectively, in endothelium intact preparations, but not in those devoid of endothelium. L-arginine (1 mM), but not D-arginine, reversed the L-NMMA-induced enhancement of the angiotensin II-induced contraction. The present results suggest that angiotensin II-induced contractions in rabbit renal artery are largely subject to the influence of the endothelium. The endothelium-derived relaxant factor (EDRF), rather than cyclo-oxygenase products, appears to be involved in mediating the inhibitory effects of the endothelium. Nitric oxide (NO) derived from endothelium may play a major role in inhibiting angiotensin II-induced contractions in this preparation.

The disulfide-reducing agent dithiothreitol (DTT) has been shown to reduce angiotensin II (Ang II) subtype 1 receptor (AT1) binding sites in various tissues. Its effect on Ang II-induced contractions was studied in the rat portal vein and rabbit aorta. In the isolated rat portal vein, DTT shifted the concentration-response curve for Ang II to the right (DTT 0.5-3 mmol/l) and depressed the maximal response (DTT 1-3 mmol/l). DTT 5 mmol/l almost abolished the effect of Ang II. In the isolated rabbit aorta, the inhibitory effect of DTT was more pronounced and its pattern of effect was different, since DTT 0.3 and 0.5 mmol/l caused a progressive flattening of the concentration-response curve of Ang II. DTT (1 mmol/l) fully suppressed the effect of Ang II. A biphasic curve consisting of a high sensitivity component and a component of low sensitivity for Ang II was observed after pretreatment with DTT 1 mmol/l in the rat portal vein but not in the rabbit aorta. In the presence of DTT 1 mmol/l, the AT1-receptor antagonist losartan antagonized the high sensitivity response to Ang II in a competitive manner with a pA2 value very similar to that obtained in the absence of DTT, suggesting that this response to Ang II is mediated by those AT1-receptors which were not inactivated by DTT. The biphasic curve may be explained by the occurrence of a single AT1-receptor subtype existing in two different states. Another possibility might be the involvement of two AT1-receptor subpopulations.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

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The calcium dependency of AT1-receptor mediated contractions was studied in isolated rat portal vein preparations. The spontaneous phasic contractile force of the rat portal vein was increased (ED50 = 1.76 mmol/l) and the frequency of contractions decreased by raising the extracellular calcium concentration. The Ang II-induced rise in phasic contractile force (mediated by AT1-receptors, Zhang et al. 1993) proved most pronounced at 0.9 mmol/l of calcium chloride, but it was weaker at either lower or higher calcium concentrations. The maximal increases in the phasic contractile force induced by Ang II were 2.4 +/- 0.4, 14.8 +/- 0.9 and 5 +/- 0.5 mN at calcium concentrations of 0.5, 0.9 and 2.5 mmol/l, respectively. Calcium antagonists reduced at the lower and abolished at the higher concentrations (nifedipine 2 x 10(-8) or 10(-7) mol/l; verapamil 10(-7) or 5 x 10(-7) mol/l; diltiazem 3 x 10(-7) or 10(-6) mol/l) the spontaneous contractile force. All of these calcium antagonists caused a strong inhibition or suppression of the phasic contractions induced by Ang II. The rank order of potency was nifedipine > verapamil > diltiazem. Ang II (10(-6) mol/l) elicited a tonic contraction which was abolished by the AT1-receptor antagonist losartan 10(-6) mol/l but not by the AT2-receptor antagonist PD 123177 (10(-5) mol/l). Very high concentrations of nifedipine (10(-6) mol/l), verapamil (5 x 10(-6) mol/l) and diltiazem (5 x 10(-6) mol/l) almost suppressed the tonic effect evoked by the activation of AT1-receptors. In a nominally Ca2+ "free", EGTA-containing solution, a single supra-maximal concentration of Ang II (10(-6) mol/l) caused a transient contraction, also mediated by AT1-receptors.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)