Abstract P198: Biphasic And Sex-dependent Roles Of The Prorenin Receptor In The Rostral Ventrolateral Nucleus In Mice Subjected To Deoxycorticosterone Acetate-salt Hypertension

Abstract

The brain renin angiotensin system (RAS) regulates blood pressure (BP) and autonomic function. However, it remains unclear how and where angiotensin II (Ang II) is generated in conditions eliciting brain RAS overactivation including deoxycorticosterone acetate (DOCA)-salt hypertension (HT). In several tissues, the activation of prorenin requires its binding to the prorenin receptor (PRR). New evidence from this study indicates that prorenin and PRR are co-expressed in the proximity to the rostral ventrolateral nucleus (RVL), an anatomical brain region that controls sympathetic nerve activity. Therefore, we hypothesized that selective ablation of PRR targeting the RVL attenuates BP increase due to DOCA-salt. PRR ablation was targeted to the RVL by stereotactic microinjections of adeno-associated virus (AAV) expressing Cre recombinase-mCherry in PRR-flox mice (PRR RVL-KO ). AAV mCherry was used as control virus (WT). A pressor response to L-glutamate in the injection site served as confirmatory stereotactic target hit. RVL-targeted ablation of PRR resulted in lower BP responses to DOCA-salt in females (WT=115±3 vs KO=104±4 mmHg; p <0.05; n=8), but not males (n=5-8), only during the first 3 days of DOCA-salt treatment. However, at day 13 of DOCA-salt treatment, female PRR RVL-KO unexpectedly exhibited exaggerated increase in systolic BP (WT=149±3 vs KO=163±3 mmHg; p =0.004; n=8) and pulse pressure (WT=31±4 vs KO=45±4 mmHg; p =0.02; n=8) when compared to control. Next, mice were challenged with an intraperitoneal hypertonic saline injection equivalent to 10% of their body weight followed by 4 hours of urine collection. Urinary sodium excretion in female PRR RVL-KO was significantly lower when compared to WT ( p <0.05). These data indicate that the role of PRR in the RVL is sex-dependent and biphasic. That is, PRR contributes to the pressor response during the initial stage of DOCA-salt HT in females, presumably by facilitating the generation of angiotensin peptides in the RVL, while it plays a protective role by promoting renal sodium excretion and preventing elevation of systolic BP during the maintenance stage of DOCA-salt HT. This study suggests that distinct PRR expressing cell populations might elicit diverging physiological functions within the RVL.