Abstract-It has been suggested that combined inhibition of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) and neutral endopeptidase (NEP) may lower blood pressure more effectively than either treatment alone, independent of the degree of salt and volume status or the activity of the renin-angiotensin system. The effects of NEP inhibition in hypertension associated with diabetes mellitus are largely unknown. We therefore compared ACE inhibition, NEP inhibition, and dual NEP/ACE inhibition in diabetic hypertensive rats. Spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) aged 9 to 10 weeks were injected with either streptozotocin (45 mg/kg) or citrate buffer and randomized to receive either the ACE inhibitor captopril (25 mg/kg BID), the NEP inhibitor SCH 42495 (30 mg/kg BID), the dual NEP/ACE inhibitor S 21402 (25 or 50 mg/kg BID), or vehicle by gavage for 4 weeks. A group of diabetic SHR was also allocated to receive the combination of SCH 42495 (30 mg/kg BID) and captopril (25 mg/kg BID). The degree of renal NEP inhibition was determined by autoradiography, and plasma renin activity (PRA) was determined by radioimmunoassay. In diabetic SHR, the dual NEP/ACE inhibitor (50 mg/kg BID), as well as the combination of the NEP inhibitor and the ACE inhibitor, reduced systolic blood pressure more effectively than the ACE inhibitor (PϽ0.001) or the NEP inhibitor (PϽ0.001) alone. In nondiabetic SHR, the dual NEP/ACE inhibitor and the ACE inhibitor were equally effective, while the NEP inhibitor had only slight blood pressure-lowering effects. Relative heart weight decreased in parallel to the changes in blood pressure. Renal NEP was clearly inhibited (70% to 92%; PϽ0.001) by both the NEP inhibitor and the dual NEP/ACE inhibitor. Both the ACE inhibitor and the dual NEP/ACE inhibitor increased PRA, but the stimulating effect of dual NEP/ACE inhibition on PRA was less than that observed with ACE inhibition alone (PϽ0.05). Albuminuria in diabetic SHR was lower during treatment with both the dual NEP/ACE inhibitor (50 mg/kg BID) and the combination of NEP inhibition and ACE inhibition compared with vehicle treatment (PϽ0.05). In conclusion, the present study shows that hypertension in SHR with streptozotocin-induced diabetes is modulated by natriuretic peptides and thus is sensitive to NEP inhibition. The increased efficacy of dual NEP/ACE inhibition on blood pressure in diabetic SHR, compared with ACE or NEP inhibition alone, suggests that this therapeutic approach may prove beneficial in the treatment of hypertension associated with diabetes mellitus and other forms of volume-dependent hypertension.(Hypertension. 1998;32:778-785.)Key Words: natriuretic peptides Ⅲ angiotensin Ⅲ renal circulation Ⅲ albuminuria Ⅲ blood pressure I nhibitors of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) have proved effective in the treatment of hypertension associated with diabetes mellitus. As shown in a meta-analysis of clinical trials, ACE inhibitors reduce proteinuria and attenuate progression of renal failure in patients with diabetic nephropathy more effectively than tre...

Vasopeptidase inhibitors, such as omapatrilat are single molecules that simultaneously inhibit neutral endopeptidase (NEP) and angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE). In normotensive rats, a single dose of oral omapatrilat (10 mg/kg) and 1 mg/kg inhibited plasma ACE (P < .01) for 24 h and increased plasma renin activity for 8 h (P < .01). In vitro autoradiography using the specific NEP inhibitor radioligand 125I-RB104 and the specific ACE inhibitor radioligand 125I-MK351A showed omapatrilat (10 mg/kg) caused rapid and potent inhibition of renal NEP and ACE, respectively, for 24 h (P < .01). In spontaneously hypertensive rats, 10 days of oral omapatrilat (40 mg/kg/day) reduced blood pressure (vehicle 237 +/- 4 mm Hg; omapatrilat, 10 mg/kg, 212 +/- 4 mm Hg; omapatrilat 40 mg/kg, 197 +/- 4 mm Hg, P < .01) in a dose-dependent manner (10 v 40 mg/kg, P < .01). Left ventricular hypertrophy was significantly reduced by high-dose omapatrilat (vehicle 2.76 +/- 0.03 mg/g body weight; omapatrilat, 10 mg/kg, 2.71 +/- 0.02 mg/g; omapatrilat 40 mg/kg, 2.55 +/- 0.02 mg/g, P < .01) and omapatrilat also increased kidney weight compared to vehicle (both doses, P < .01). Omapatrilat caused significant inhibition of plasma ACE and increased plasma renin activity (both doses, P < .01), and in vitro autoradiographic studies indicated sustained inhibition of renal ACE and NEP (both doses, P < .01). Omapatrilat is a potent vasopeptidase inhibitor, and its antihypertensive effects are associated with inhibition of NEP and ACE at the tissue level and beneficial effects on cardiovascular structure. Relating the degree of tissue inhibition to physiologic responses may allow further definition of the role of local renin angiotensin and natriuretic peptide systems in the beneficial effects of vasopeptidase inhibitors.

To characterize the role of arginine vasopressin (AVP) V(1A) or V2 receptors and the possible interaction with the renin-angiotensin system in the pathogenesis of hypertension in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR), young male SHR were treated from 6 to 10 wk of age with AVP V(1A) receptor blockade, angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibition, combination of V(1A) receptor blockade and ACE inhibition, V2 receptor blockade, and vehicle. Treatments were then withdrawn, and systolic blood pressure (SBP) was measured until 19 wk of age. At both 10 and 19 wk of age, SBP was significantly reduced with V(1A) receptor blockade, ACE inhibition, and combined treatment compared with vehicle treatment, although no treatment normalized SBP to levels of Donryu normotensive rats. Throughout the experimental period, no significant additive effects were observed with combined treatment. At 10 wk of age, plasma AVP concentration and 24-h urinary AVP excretion were increased with AVP V2 receptor blockade. At 19 wk of age, SBP was significantly higher in rats previously treated with V2 receptor blockade (233 +/- 3 mmHg) than with vehicle (221 +/- 2 mmHg) (P < 0.01). Left ventricular mass was significantly reduced in rats previously treated with ACE inhibition or combined treatment. These results suggest that AVP (via V(1A) receptors) and angiotensin II contribute to the pathogenesis of SHR hypertension, whereas the AVP V2 receptor may be involved in preventing the full expression of the hypertension, in male SHR.