A micromethod for the measurement of renin in brain nuclei: its application in spontaneously hypertensive rats.

The aim of this study was to develop a method for the measurement of renin activity in small tissue samples obtained from rat brains by the micropunch technique and to investigate the activity of brain renin in spontaneously hypertensive rats. The assay satisfied sensitive and specificity requirements. Angiotensin I was generated at a pH of 6.0; complete recovery of angiotensin I and kinetic studies supported the specificity of the method. Angiotensinase and cathepsin D-like acid protease activity were measured in parallel with renin. Renin was present in all brain regions studied and decreased with the age of the animals. An increased activity of renin was measured in several nuclei of the brain stem and in the neurohypophysis of young hypertensive rats when compared with age-matched normotensive control animals. These differences disappeared in older rats. There was a dissociation between renin and cathepsin D-like acid protease activity. No correlation existed between the distribution of renin and angiotensinase activity. The increased renin activity in brain stem nuclei of spontaneously hypertensive animals is in agreement with previous findings that the brain renin-angiotensin system contributes to the maintenance of high blood pressure in these rats.