Naloxone increases the angiotensin II stimulated rise of arginine vasopressin and oxytocin secretion in man.

The effect of systemic angiotensin II (ANG II) administration on the posterior pituitary function was investigated in normal men. In addition, the role of endogenous opioids in the control of arginine vasopressin (AVP) and/or oxytocin (OT) responses to ANG II was evaluated with the administration of the opioid antagonist naloxone. ANG II (i.v. infusion for 60 min of successively increasing doses of 4, 8 and 16 ng/kg min; each dose for 20 min) was given to 7 normal men, alone or together with naloxone (10 or 20 mg injected i.v. just before ANG II infusion). In all subjects, control experiments with naloxone (10 or 20 mg) alone were also performed. ANG II induced a significant increase in plasma concentrations of AVP and OT. The AVP and OT responses to ANG II had a similar magnitude and followed a similar pattern. The mean peak levels of both hormones were reached at 60 min after the beginning of ANG II infusion. The administration of 10 or 20 mg naloxone alone did not modify the circulating concentrations of AVP and OT. The pretreatment with naloxone significantly increased both ANG II-induced AVP and OT increases twofold, without changing the time course and the secretory pattern of the hormonal responses. These data demonstrate that systemic administration of ANG II in man induces similar simultaneous increments in plasma levels of both AVP and OT. Furthermore, these data suggest the involvement of a naloxone-sensitive opioid mechanism in the regulation of both AVP and OT responses to ANG II in man.