Angiotensin II converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI) or angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARB) presumably stimulate renin secretion by interrupting angiotensin II feedback inhibition. The increase in cytosolic calcium caused by activation of Gq-coupled AT1 receptors may mediate the renin-inhibitory effect of angiotensin II at the cellular level, implying that ACEI and ARB may work by reducing intracellular calcium. Here, we investigated whether angiotensin II blockade acts predominantly through Gs-mediated stimulation of adenylyl cyclase (AC) by testing the effect of ACEI and ARB in mice with juxtaglomerular cell-specific deficiency of the AC-stimulatory Gs␣. The ACEI captopril and quinaprilate and the ARB candesartan significantly increased plasma renin concentration (PRC) to 20 to 40 times basal PRC in wild-type mice but did not significantly alter PRC in Gs␣-deficient mice. Captopril also completely abrogated renin stimulation in wild-type mice after co-administration of propranolol, indomethacin, and L-NAME. Treatment with enalapril and a low-NaCl diet for 7 days led to a 35-fold increase in PRC among wild-type mice but no significant change in PRC among Gs␣-deficient mice. Three different pharmacologic inhibitors of AC reduced the stimulatory effect of captopril by 70% to 80%. In conclusion, blockade of angiotensin II stimulates renin synthesis and release indirectly through the action of ligands that activate the cAMP/PKA pathway in a Gs␣-dependent fashion, including catecholamines, prostaglandins, and nitric oxide. 21: 986 -992, 201021: 986 -992, . doi: 10.1681 Angiotensin II regulates renin secretion through a homeostatic mechanism that has been called the "short feedback loop," with renin synthesis and secretion inhibited by increases and stimulated by reductions of angiotensin II concentration. 1 The cellular mechanisms underlying the feedback effects of angiotensin II are not entirely clear. There is good experimental support for the notion that the acute inhibition is mediated, at least in part, by a direct type 1 angiotensin II receptor (AT 1A )-dependent effect of the peptide on cell calcium. 1,2 Angiotensin II inhibits renin release in kidney slices 3 and in isolated juxtaglomerular granular (JG) cells, where the effect is blocked by losartan. 4,5 In the isolated JG cell, angiotensin II increases intracellular calcium levels, with increases correlating with the reduction of renin release. 5 On the other hand, it is unclear whether the stimulatory arm of the short feedback loop (i.e., the increase of renin in response to a reduction of angiotensin II) can be explained by the reverse of the
J Am Soc Nephrol