Sodium Sensitivity Research Articles

RpoS co‐operates with other factors to induce Legionella pneumophila virulence in the stationary phase

Legionella pneumophila replicates within amoebae and macrophages and causes the severe pneumonia Legionnaires' disease. When broth cultures enter the post-exponential growth (PE) phase or experience amino acid limitation, L. pneumophila accumulates the stringent response signal (p)ppGpp and expresses traits likely to promote transmission to a new phagocyte. The hypothesis that a stringent response mechanism regulates L. pneumophila virulence was bolstered by our finding that the avirulent mutant Lp120 contains an internal deletion in the gene encoding the stationary phase sigma factor RpoS. To test directly whether RpoS co-ordinates virulence with stationary phase, isogenic wild-type, rpoS-120 and rpoS null mutant strains were constructed and analysed. PE phase L. pneumophila became cytotoxic by an RpoS-independent pathway, but their sodium sensitivity and maximal expression of flagellin required RpoS. Likewise, full induction of sodium sensitivity by experimentally induced (p)ppGpp synthesis required RpoS. To replicate efficiently in macrophages, L. pneumophila used both RpoS-dependent and -independent pathways. Like those containing the dotA type IV secretory apparatus mutant, phagosomes harbouring either rpoS or dotA rpoS mutants rapidly acquired the late endosomal protein LAMP-1, but not the lysosomal marker Texas red-ovalbumin. Together, the data support a model in which RpoS co-operates with other regulators to induce L. pneumophila virulence in the PE phase.

Sodium, kidney, and circadian rhythm of blood pressure

In healthy subjects, blood pressure falls during the night to 10%–20% less than that during the daytime. In some patients, such as those with hypertension and renal diseases, on the other hand, night-time blood pressure does not fall. This so-called nondipping phenomenon is tightly linked with high sodium sensitivity of blood pressure, microalbuminuria, and glomerular capillary hypertension. Interrelationships among these factors lead us to consider the important role of the kidney. I would like to propose that loss of renal functional reserve is the key to link these interrelationships. Loss of renal functional reserve, reduced ultrafiltration capacity, or enhanced tubular sodium reabsorption induces the sodium-sensitive type of hypertension. When sodium intake is high in patients with impaired renal function reserve, the defect in sodium excretory capability becomes evident, elevating blood pressure during the night (that is, nocturnal hypertension or nondipping) in order to compensate for diminished natriuresis during the daytime, causing enhanced pressure natriuresis during the night. Under such conditions, glomerular capillary pressure is also elevated dependent on systemic blood pressure, and increased albumin leakage into urine is its marker. When sodium intake is low, on the other hand, the defect remains latent, allowing blood pressure during the night to be lowered, that is dipping, as is seen in normal subjects.

Salt sensitivity, pulse pressure, and death in normal and hypertensive humans.

Although factors such as age, blood pressure, and its responsiveness to changes in sodium balance and extracellular fluid volume status (salt sensitivity) are associated with an increased risk of end-organ disease and cardiovascular events in hypertensive subjects, no such relationship with mortality has been demonstrated for salt sensitivity in normotensive subjects. We conducted long-term follow-up of 430 normal and 278 hypertensive subjects in whom assessment of salt sensitivity of blood pressure was performed as long as 27 years ago. We ascertained the status of 596 subjects (85% of the total population), 123 (21%) of whom had died. The following initial measurements were significantly (P<0.002) associated with subjects who had died compared with subjects known to be alive: age at study, pulse pressure, systolic, diastolic, and mean arterial pressures, hypertension, salt sensitivity, baseline renin levels, and body mass index (but not body weight). A stepwise logistic regression found the following independent predictors of death (odds ratio, 95% CI): age at initial study (1.08, 1.06 to 1.10), baseline blood pressure (1.03, 1.01 to 1.04), sodium sensitivity (1.73, 1.02 to 2.94), and male gender (1.91, 1.15 to 3.17). When survival curves were examined, normotensive salt-sensitive subjects aged >25 years when initially studied were found to have a cumulative mortality similar to that of hypertensive subjects, whereas salt-resistant normotensive subjects had increased survival (P:<0.001). These observations provide unique evidence of a relationship between salt sensitivity and mortality that is independent of elevated blood pressure.

Mechanism of sodium load-induced hypertension in non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus model rats: defective dopaminergic system to inhibit Na-K-ATPase activity in renal epithelial cells.

Obesity-related non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) is frequently accompanied by hypertension. The present study was designed to clarify this mechanism. We first determined the blood pressure in male Wistar fatty rats (WFR), one of the NIDDM model rats, and in Wistar lean rats (WLR) as the control, with a normal (0.7% NaCl) or high (7% NaCl) salt diet. We observed no difference in systolic and mean blood pressures between WFR and WLR. WFR, however, became extremely hypertensive as a result of ingesting the high salt diet. We next investigated the mechanism for sodium sensitivity in WFR. Although the urinary excretion of dopamine (DA), a potent natriuretic factor, which reflects the ability for renal DA production, was preserved in WFR, the sodium balance with the high salt diet was positive. Moreover, Na-K-ATPase activity in isolated proximal convoluted tubules (PCT) from WFR with a normal salt diet was significantly (p<0.05) higher than that from WLR. A high salt load produced a significant (p<0.05) decrease in Na-K-ATPase activity in WLR but not in WFR. Similarly, Na-K-ATPase activity in WLR with a normal salt diet was significantly (p<0.05) inhibited by DA (10(-5) M), but this was not true in WFR. Furthermore, urinary excretion of norepinephrine in WFR with a high salt diet was the highest among all the groups. These results indicate that WFR tend to develop salt-sensitive hypertension that could be caused by the excessive sodium retention occurring as the results of a defective dopaminergic system in the kidney that fails to inhibit Na-K-ATPase activity. Augmentation of the renal sympathetic nervous system may play some role in this setting.

The low-temperature- and salt-induced RCI2A gene of Arabidopsis complements the sodium sensitivity caused by a deletion of the homologous yeast gene SNA1.

Two closely related, tandemly arranged, low-temperature- and salt-induced Arabidopsis genes, corresponding to the previously isolated cDNAs RCI2A and RCI2B, were isolated and characterized. The RCI2A transcript accumulated primarily in response to low temperature or high salinity, and to a lesser extent in response to ABA treatment or water deficit stress. The RCI2B transcript was present at much lower levels than RCI2A, and could only be detected by reverse transcription-PCR amplification. The predicted 6 kDa RCI2 proteins are highly hydrophobic and contain two putative membrane-spanning regions. The polypeptides exhibit extensive similarity to deduced low-temperature- and/or salt-induced proteins from barley, wheat grass and strawberry, and to predicted proteins from bacteria, fungi, nematodes and yeast. Interestingly, we found that a deletion of the RCI2 homologous gene, SNA1 (YRD276c), in yeast causes a salt-sensitive phenotype. This effect is specific for sodium, since no growth defect was observed for the sna1 mutant on 1.7 M sorbitol, 1 M KCl or 0.6 M LiCl. Finally, we found that the Arabidopsis RCI2A cDNA can complement the sna1 mutant when expressed in yeast, indicating that the plant and yeast proteins have similar functions during high salt stress.

Proteolipids: small hydrophobic peptides in the field of sodium tolerance

High soil salinity that develops in areas surrounding deserts is an increasing threat for agriculture. It has thus become an important goal for basic and applied research to identify the pathways regulating salt sensitivity in plants. Recently, major progress has led to the identification of plant genes encoding sodium transporters. The AtNHX1 protein mediates sodium detoxification by sequestration in the vacuole. The SOS1 protein has been proposed to function as Na+/H+ antiporter leading to Na+ efflux from plant cells and the AtHKT1 potassium transporter could also mediate the uptake of sodium in plants.Catherine Navarre and Andre Goffeau1xMembrane hyperpolarization and salt sensitivity induced by deletion of PMP3, a highly conserved small protein of yeast plasma membrane. Navarre, C. and Goffeau, A. EMBO J. 2000; 19: 2515–2524Crossref | PubMedSee all References1 have identified PMP3 as a new determinant of sodium tolerance in yeast. Unlike AtHKT1, AtNHX1 and SOS1, whose molecular architectures are typical for membrane transporters, PMP3 belongs to the much less characterized class of small highly hydrophobic peptides called proteolipids. In their study, Navarre and Goffeau show that, in yeast, PMP3 disruption leads to a strong increase in salt sensitivity. This phenotype is not linked to a regulation of sodium efflux pumps by PMP3 because the increase of salt sensitivity as a result of PMP3 disruption or efflux pump disruption are additive. Furthermore, PMP3 disruption restores the growth of yeast potassium transport mutants. Finally, the authors identify membrane hyperpolarization as the central mechanism underlying the increase of K+ and Na+ uptake. This effect on membrane polarization is not linked to an increase in pump activity. Therefore PMP3, a membrane protein, probably mediates or upregulates an ion leakage pathway modulating yeast membrane potential.Gene families encoding proteolipids have now been identified in bacteria, fungi, plants and animals. In plants, proteolipid genes have been found in Lophopyrum elongatum, wheat, barley and Arabidopsis. Three lines of argument suggest that they could also be involved in the determination of plant sodium sensitivity. First, they show high sequence similarity with yeast PMP3. Second, Navarre and Goffeau demonstrate that RCI2A, one of the PMP3 homologues from Arabidopsis, can complement the salt hypersensitivity phenotype of a yeast mutant with disrupted PMP3. Third, in L. elongatum, the PMP3 homologue ESI3 has been shown to be rapidly and transiently induced after exposure to high sodium concentrations, suggesting that it provides early protection against salt stress. Altogether, the data presented by Navarre and Goffeau suggest that an unexpected class of protein, the proteolipids, represent new molecular determinants for salt resistance in yeast and plants.

Sodium-sensitive hypertension is not associated with higher sympathetic nervous system activity in older hypertensive humans

The majority of older hypertensive humans are sodium sensitive and they are characterized by increased α-adrenergic responsiveness relative to their level of sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity. To test the hypothesis that heightened SNS activity and/or increased α-adrenergic receptor responsiveness during sodium loading may play a role in the sodium-dependent increase in blood pressure in older sodium-sensitive hypertensives, we used compartmental analysis of [ 3H]norepinephrine (NE) kinetics to determine the release rate of NE into an extravascular compartment (NE 2) as an index of systemic SNS activity and determined forearm blood flow responses to graded intrabrachial artery NE and angiotensin II (ANG II) infusions and platelet membrane α 2-receptor properties in 24 older (age 64 ± 7 years) hypertensive subjects. Subjects were studied at the end of 1 week of a low (20 mmol/day)- and again at the end of 1 week of a high (200 mmol/day)-sodium diet. Subjects were categorized as sodium sensitive (SS) if they had a ≥ 5 mm Hg increase in mean arterial blood pressure (MABP) with dietary sodium loading (n = 16), or sodium-resistant (SR) if their MABP increased by < 5 mm Hg (n = 8). Neither dietary sodium intake nor sodium-sensitivity status significantly affected arterial plasma NE levels, NE 2, or other NE kinetic parameters. Forearm blood flow responses to NE or to ANG II, and platelet α 2-receptor properties were similar between the SS and SR groups. These results suggest that the sodium-dependent increase in MABP that characterizes SS hypertension among older humans is not because of an increase in systemic SNS activity or increased arterial adrenergic receptor responsiveness.

Association between salt sensitivity and target organ damage in essential hypertension

Cardiovascular events occur more frequently in sodium-sensitive patients with essential hypertension; recently, sodium sensitivity was shown to be a cardiovascular risk factor independently of other classic factors such as blood pressure and cigarette smoking This study examined the relationship between salt sensitivity status and target organ damage in hypertensive patients. Ninety-six patients (35 men, 61 women) with moderate essential hypertension were studied for salt sensitivity status and the presence of target organ damage, including hypertensive retinopathy, serum creatinine, creatinine clearance, and urinary albumin excretion (UAE). Four different patterns of left ventricular anatomic adaptation were identified by categorizing patients according to the values of left ventricular mass index and relative wall thickness by the means of echocardiography. Forty-five (47%) patients were shown to be salt-sensitive, in contrast to 51 (53%) salt-resistant subjects. Serum creatinine and UAE were significantly higher in the group of salt-sensitive hypertensives ( P < .05 and P < .001, respectively). Left ventricular mass index (LVMI), relative wall thickness (RWT), and left atrial index (LAI) were all significantly higher in the group of salt-sensitive hypertensive patients. Concentric hypertrophy was significantly more prevalent in the salt-sensitive group (37.8% v 11.8%; P < .01). The prevalence of hypertensive retinopathy in the salt-sensitive group was 84.4%, in contrast to 59.6% in the salt-resistant group ( P < .01). Multivariate regression analysis revealed salt sensitivity as a significant predictor of LVMI, RWT, and UAE, independently of age, body mass index, and mean blood pressure. In conclusion, salt-sensitive hypertensive patients are more prone to develop severe hypertensive target organ damage that may enhance their risk of renal and cardiovascular morbidity.

Magnesium and sodium sensitivity in hypertensive subjects

Magnesium and sodium sensitivity in hypertensive subjects

Pressure-independent contribution of sodium to large artery structure and function in hypertension

Sodium sensitivity is usually studied in terms of change of blood pressure (BP) but the specific effects on conduit arteries have not been addressed. In genetic models of hypertension, chronically increased sodium diet is associated with aortic hypertrophy and development of extracellular matrix independent of BP. These alterations, often associated with increased stiffness and secretory properties of vascular smooth muscle, are reversed by lowering sodium intake and/or giving diuretics, independently of BP changes. The arterial changes are chronically modulated by hormonal counterregulatory mechanisms since, when sodium intake is high, bradykinin blockade produces more carotid hypertrophy, and when sodium intake is normal, less aortic collagen accumulates because of AT(1)-receptor blockade. In longitudinal studies on hypertensive subjects, increased sodium intake not only increases BP but also decreases brachial artery diameter, implying pressure-independent mechanisms acting on the arterial wall. The antihypertensive effect of diuretics is associated with little change of arterial geometry and stiffness, probably resulting from marked angiotensin-induced increase of arterial stiffness. This latter effect is blocked by converting-enzyme inhibition. All these arterial changes may be genetically modulated since in salt-sensitive hypertensives, increased sodium intake is associated with decreased arterial distensibility, and in some hypertensive subjects, a polymorphism of the AT(1)-receptor gene has been described in association with increased aortic stiffness and is reversed by converting-enzyme inhibition independent of BP. In genetic models of human and rat hypertension, increased sodium intake is associated with specific alterations of the structure and function of conduit arteries involving extracellular matrix, but independent of BP and atherosclerosis.

Sodium sensitivity of blood pressure in long-term detoxified alcoholics.

To investigate whether sodium sensitivity of blood pressure participates in the relationship of arterial hypertension to chronic alcohol consumption, 30 alcoholics detoxified from 6 to 12 months and 30 teetotaler controls underwent a dietary sodium manipulation study. They received a daily 55 mmol sodium diet for 7 days, followed by a 260 mmol sodium diet for 7 days. Changes in 24-hour urinary sodium excretion between the end of each period were similar in alcoholics and controls (202+/-16 SEM mmol and 227+/-11, respectively). Plasma renin activity in alcoholics was lower than in controls at both low (2.4+/-0.4 ng angiotensin I/mLxh(-1) versus 3. 7+/-0.2, P<0.003) and high sodium intake (0.47+/-0.10 versus 0. 82+/-0.10, P<0.05), with smaller variations in alcoholics (-1.9+/-0. 3 versus -2.9+/-0.2, P<0.009). In alcoholics, alteration in sodium intake was followed by greater changes in both systolic and mean blood pressure (ambulatory blood pressure monitoring), which rose by 10.6+/-2.2 mm Hg and 7.3+/-1.5 versus 4.7+/-1.4 and 3.9+/-1.0 in controls, respectively (P<0.03 for systolic and P<0.05 for mean blood pressure). The ratio of changes in mean blood pressure to those in 24-hour urinary sodium excretion was higher in alcoholics (0.044+/- 0.011 mm Hgxmmol(-1) versus 0.018+/-0.0041, P<0.005). Our data show that in detoxified alcoholics, there is an abnormal response of both blood pressure and plasma renin activity to variations in salt intake similar to that in sodium-sensitive arterial hypertension. The precise relationship between the sodium sensitivity of blood pressure in detoxified alcoholics and the long-term influence of alcohol on blood pressure remains to be elucidated.

Sodium sensitivity, not level of salt intake, predicts salt effects.

Sodium sensitivity, not level of salt intake, predicts salt effects.

Regulation of sodium balance and blood pressure by the AT(1A) receptor for angiotensin II.

To examine the role of the angiotensin II (AT)(1A) receptor in the regulation of blood pressure and sodium balance, we measured systolic blood pressure responses in AT(1A) receptor-deficient (Agtr1a-/-) and wild-type (Agtr1a+/+) mice while dietary sodium content was systematically altered. On a 0.4% sodium diet, systolic blood pressures were significantly lower in Agtr1a-/- than in +/+ mice. In Agtr1a+/+ mice, changing dietary sodium content did not affect blood pressure. In contrast, when Agtr1a-/- mice were fed a high-salt diet (6% NaCl), their systolic blood pressures increased significantly from 79+/-4 to 94+/-4 mm Hg (P<0.006). The low blood pressures of Agtr1a-/- mice decreased further while on a low-salt diet from 82+/-3 to 69+/-3 mm Hg (P<0.03). On the high-salt diet, urinary sodium excretion increased to similar levels in Agtr1a+/+ and -/- mice. Although urinary sodium excretion was substantially reduced in both groups during the low-salt diet, cumulative sodium balances became negative in Agtr1a-/- mice despite a 6-fold increase in urinary aldosterone. We infer, therefore, that the reduced blood pressures in Agtr1a-/- mice on a normal diet are caused by depletion of sodium and extracellular volume. Their "sodium sensitivity" suggests a critical role for renal AT(1A) receptors to modulate sodium handling.

Sodium sensitivity and sympathetic nervous system in hypertension induced by long-term nitric oxide blockade in rats.

1. Pharmacological inhibition of nitric oxide (NO) synthesis is known to produce acute and chronic hypertension in many animal species, but the underlying mechanisms mediating the hypertension are not completely understood. In particular, the pathogenetic roles of sodium sensitivity and the sympathetic nervous system in this model of hypertension are controversial. The present study was designed to test the hypothesis that long-term administration of the NO synthesis inhibitor NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) to male Sprague-Dawley rats would produce a sodium-sensitive hypertension and that the enhanced activity of the sympathetic nervous system in this type of hypertension contributes to the sodium sensitivity. 2. NG-Nitro-L-arginine methyl ester was added to drinking fluid for 8 weeks at a concentration of 16 mg/dL. Rats received tap water for the first 4 weeks of the study and were then divided into two groups and placed on either a normal or high sodium intake (ingestion of either tap water or 0.9% NaCl, respectively). Awake systolic blood pressure was measured by the tail-cuff method every week. Urinary excretion rates of the stable NO metabolites and catecholamines during NO synthesis inhibition were examined. 3. Long-term administration of L-NAME produced a marked and sustained elevation in arterial pressure without altering urine flow, or sodium excretion rate. NG-Nitro-L-arginine methyl ester-induced hypertension was accompanied by a decreased urinary excretion of the stable NO metabolites NO2- and NO3- and was aggravated when rats drank 0.9% NaCl in place of tap water. Urinary excretion of adrenaline and noradrenaline, but not dopamine, in L-NAME-treated rats increased significantly within the first week of the study compared with control rats. L-Arginine (2 g/dL in drinking fluid) completely reversed the elevation of arterial pressure as well as the decrease in urinary NO2- and NO3- excretion and the increased urinary excretion of catecholamines associated with L-NAME treatment by 3 weeks of concomitant administration. 4. These results suggest that long-term inhibition of NO synthesis produces a sodium-sensitive hypertension and that changes in sympathetic nerve activity may, at least in part, contribute to the sodium sensitivity in this type of hypertension.

Genetic mapping and tailored antihypertensive therapy.

A tailored or individualized antihypertensive therapy represents the new frontier for the treatment of essential hypertension and its organ complications. Indeed, individual variation in the efficacy and tolerability of antihypertensive drugs in human essential hypertension is currently experienced by all physicians and is linked to the genetic heterogeneity of this multifactorial disease. Different approaches have been pursued in the attempt to correlate specific responsiveness to the therapy with phenotypic traits of the patients, but with poor results. More recently, the genetic approach to the study of the mechanisms underlying hypertension has led to the identification of some quantitative trait loci or genes that influence blood pressure both in animal models and in patients. But the relevance of these polymorphisms for defining and classifying patients in terms of therapy responsiveness must be analyzed in a more complex context that takes into account the crucial aspects of environmental influences, stage of disease, previous treatments, efficacy, tolerance, and duration of the treatment. Only a few examples of a pharmacogenomic approach to hypertension therapy are now available. In particular, the association of different variants of ACE, angiotensinogen, and G-protein genes with the blood pressure response to drugs interfering with RAS or beta-adrenergic receptor has been studied. However, the results of these studies cannot be considered conclusive, since not all the criteria have been fully applied for proper assessment of an association between genetic polymorphism and drug response. Our group has identified a polymorphism of the genes coding for the cytoskeletal protein, adducin, which is associated with both rat and human hypertension, sodium sensitivity, and the antihypertensive effects of diuretics. A modification of the renal Na-KATPase leading to an increase of tubular sodium reabsorption seems to be the most likely underlying mechanism. A new antihypertensive compound has been developed that can correct the abnormality of the renal Na-KATPase and the blood pressure increase associated with adducin polymorphism in the rat. At present, the antihypertensive activity of this compound is under evaluation in patients with different adducin genotypes.

Co-ordination of legionella pneumophila virulence with entry into stationary phase by ppGpp.

Legionella pneumophila survives in aquatic environments, but replicates within amoebae or the alveolar macrophages of immunocompromised individuals. Here, the signal transduction pathway that co-ordinates L. pneumophila virulence expression in response to amino acid depletion was investigated. To facilitate kinetic and genetic studies, a phenotypic reporter of virulence was engineered by fusing flaA promoter sequences to a gene encoding green fluorescent protein. When subjected to amino acid depletion, L. pneumophila accumulated ppGpp and converted from a replicative to a virulent state, as judged by motility and sodium sensitivity. ppGpp appeared to initiate this response, as L. pneumophila induced to express the Escherichia coli RelA ppGpp synthetase independently of nutrient depletion accumulated ppGpp, exited the exponential growth phase and expressed flaAgfp, motility, sodium sensitivity, cytotoxicity and infectivity, five traits correlated with virulence. Although coincident with the stationary phase, L. pneumophila virulence expression appeared to require an additional factor: mutant Lp120 accumulated ppGpp and acquired two stationary phase traits but none of six virulence phenotypes analysed. We propose that, when nutrients are limiting, ppGpp acts as an alarmone, triggering the expression of multiple traits that enable L. pneumophila to escape its spent host, to survive and disperse in the environment and to re-establish a protected intracellular replication niche.

Cardiovascular complications in patients with primary aldosteronism.

Primary aldosteronism (PA) is widely believed to be a relatively benign form of hypertension associated with a low incidence of vascular complications. However, several recent studies showed that cardiovascular complications were not rare in PA. PA is known as one of the most typical forms of sodium-sensitive hypertension. Recently, we found that the sodium sensitivity of blood pressure was a marker for greater risk for cardiovascular complications, especially stroke, in patients with essential hypertension. Therefore, we investigated cardiovascular complications in 58 patients with PA confirmed to be Conn's adenoma. Cardiovascular complications were found in 34% of 58 patients. Coronary artery disease was found in only one patient (1.7%), as angina pectoris. Stroke was found in nine patients (15.5%), four patients (6.9%) with cerebral infarctions and five patients (8.6%) with cerebral hemorrhages. Proteinuria and renal insufficiency were found in 14 (24.1%) and 4 (6.9%) patients, respectively. The incidence of cerebral infarction and renal insufficiency was greater in men than women. The prevalence of proteinuria was greater in patients with than without stroke (P = 0.03) among those aged older than 40 years. These results indicated that cardiovascular complications, especially stroke and proteinuria, were common in patients with PA, and proteinuria might be an indicator for stroke as target-organ damage.

Pivotal Role of an Aspartate Residue in Sodium Sensitivity and Coupling to G Proteins of Neurotensin Receptors

The highly conserved aspartate residue in the second transmembrane domain of G protein-coupled receptors is present in position 113 in the type 1 neurotensin receptor (NTR1) but is replaced by an Ala residue in position 79 in the type 2 neurotensin receptor (NTR2). NTR1 couples to Galphaq to stimulate phospholipase C and its binding affinity for neurotensin is decreased by sodium ions and GTP analogs. By contrast, NTR2 does not seem to couple to any G protein in eukaryotic cells, and its binding of neurotensin is insensitive to sodium and GTP analogs. By using site-directed mutagenesis, we substituted Asp113 of the NTR1 by alanine and the homologous residue Ala79 of NTR2 by aspartate. Both mutant receptors display similar affinity for neurotensin as compared with their respective wild type. We demonstrate that the presence of the Asp residue determines by itself the occurrence of the sodium effect on neurotensin affinity for both wild-type and mutated NTR1 and -2. The introduction of an Asp in the second transmembrane domain of NTR2 is not enough to restore a functional coupling to G proteins. In contrast, replacement of Asp113 by Ala residue in NTR1 strongly decreases its ability to activate inositol turnover, indicating that the functionally active conformation of NTR1 is maintained by interaction of sodium ions with aspartate 113.

Determinants of circadian blood pressure rhythm in essential hypertension

It has been postulated that the lack of nocturnal blood pressure fall in patients called nondippers is associated with more serious end organ damages by hypertension than in dippers whose blood pressure falls during the night. Recently, we found that sodium restriction shifted circadian rhythm of blood pressure from that of a nondipper to a dipper in patients with essential hypertension. In the present study, we aimed to clarify these important findings from the different approaches, and examined which factors affected the diurnal rhythm of blood pressure. A total of 70 patients with essential hypertension were maintained on high and low sodium diets for 1 week each. Nocturnal fall in mean arterial pressure was calculated in each patient, and, based on multiple regression analysis, independent factors affecting this nocturnal fall were examined. Thirty-eight patients were classified as non–sodium-sensitive, whereas 32 were considered sodium sensitive, based on a >10% change in 24-h mean arterial pressure by sodium restriction. In all 70 patients, sodium sensitivity of blood pressure, as well as an interaction between sodium sensitivity and sodium restriction, were identified as independent factors affecting the nocturnal fall. In sodium-sensitive types, in addition to sodium restriction, glomerular filtration rate was identified, whereas, in non–sodium sensitive types, there was no significant factor. Based on multiple regression analysis, the present study reached the same important conclusion as our previous findings: namely, that the enhanced sodium sensitivity was an independent determinant for the diminished nocturnal fall in essential hypertension and that sodium restriction could restore the nocturnal decline, especially in patients with enhanced sodium sensitivity whose nocturnal decline was diminished. Reduced renal sodium excretory capability may be one of the mechanisms involved in nondipping.

Expression of nhaAv Gene Encoding Na+/H+ Antiporter from Vibrio alginolyticus in a Freshwater Cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. PCC 7942 Confers Lithium Tolerance, but not Sodium Tolerance

Salt tolerance of a freshwater Synechococcus sp. PCC 7942 transformed with a shuttle vector, that contains the 1.4 kb fragment encoding a Vibrio alginolyticus Na+/H+ antiporter, was investigated. Northern blot and reverse transcript-PCR analysis showed the expression of the Vibrio nhaAv gene in Synechococcus. Increased activity of the Na+/H+ antiporter in the transformant was observed by using acridine orange fluorescence. In growth medium containing low concentrations of NaCl, the growth rate of the transformant was similar to that of the control cells, but it became lower under high concentrations of NaCl, indicating the sodium sensitivity of the transformant. Electron transport activities and the levels of ATP and Chl were lower in the transformant at high salinity. The intracellular Na+ level was 2.4 times higher in the transformant. Acridine orange fluorescence analysis of thylakoid membranes in Synechococcus cells revealed the functional expression of the Vibrio Na+/H+ antiporter in thylakoid membranes. E. coli cells transformed with Vibrio nhaAv exhibited sodium tolerance. The expression of the nhaAv gene conferred tolerance to LiCl although not to NaCl in Synechococcus cells. The homeostatic mechanisms regulating intracellular ion concentrations were discussed.