Endocrinology, Vol 122, 1110-1113, Copyright © 1988 by Endocrine Society

ARTICLES

19-Nordeoxycorticosterone excretion in male and female inbred salt- sensitive (S/JR) and salt-resistant (R/JR) Dahl rats

EP Gomez-Sanchez and CE Gomez-Sanchez
Research Service, James A. Haley Veterans Administration Medical Center, Tampa, Florida 33612.

Rats were selectively bred for susceptibility (S) and resistance (R) to the hypertensinogenic effects of excess salt intake by Dahl and further inbred to virtual homozygosity by Rapp (S/JR and R/JR). The S strain has been shown to have a mutation of the cytochrome P-450-dependent 11 beta,18-hydroxylase resulting in the enhanced production of 18- hydroxydeoxycorticosterone (18-OH-DOC) compared to that of the R strain. It is known that this enzyme is also responsible for the hydroxylation of deoxycorticosterone at the 19 position to produce 19- hydroxydeoxycorticosterone. Recently, the excretion of 19- nordeoxycorticosterone (19-nor-DOC), a potent mineralocorticoid, has been shown to be markedly increased in S/JR females compared to that in R/JR females consuming a high sodium diet. While the S/JR rat is spontaneously hypertensive, the course of the disease is greatly accelerated and exacerbated by a high sodium diet. If, indeed, 19-nor- DOC is responsible for the spontaneous hypertension in the S/JR rat, then its production should also be higher in the S/JR rat consuming a normal salt diet. Furthermore, since its production is suppressed by NaCl intake, the excretion should be even higher when not suppressed by a high sodium diet. We measured the urinary excretion of 19-nor-DOC, 18- OH-DOC, and corticosterone in male and female S/JR and R/JR rats consuming a normal sodium diet. The excretions of corticosterone and 18- OH-DOC were significantly higher by S/JR of both sexes than by R/JR, with the excretion by female rats being higher than that by male rats within the same strain. The hierarchy of excretion rates of 19-nor-DOC was: S/JR females greater than R/JR females greater than S/JR males greater than R/JR male rats. These studies indicate that while S/JR rats of both sexes develop higher blood pressures than the R/JR even on a standard salt intake, the excretion of 19-nor-DOC does not correlate well with their blood pressure elevation, since the normotensive female R/JR rat excretes significantly higher quantities of 19-nor-DOC than the hypertensive male S/JR rat. Thus, it is unclear whether 19-nor-DOC is playing a significant role in the pathogenesis of the hypertension in the S/JR rat. It also remains unknown whether the renal site of formation of 19-nor-DOC allows access to the mineralocorticoid target sites in the kidney.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				Y. Takeda, S. Inaba, K. Furukawa, and I. Miyamori Renal 11ß-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenase in Genetically Salt-Sensitive Hypertensive Rats Hypertension, December 1, 1998; 32(6): 1077 - 1082. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				H. M. Kubisch, S. Mathialagan, and E. P. Gomez-Sanchez Modulation of Blood Pressure in the Dahl SS/jr Rat by Embryo Transfer Hypertension, January 1, 1998; 31(1): 540 - 545. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]