Actions of angiotensin II antagonists upon aldosterone production by isolated adrenal glomerulosa cells.

The biological activities of angiotensin II antagonists upon basal and angiotensin II-stimulated aldosterone production were evaluated in an isolated canine glomerulosa cell preparation. The most potent competitive antagonist of angiotensin II-stimulated aldosterone production was the [Sar1, Ile8]derivative of angiotensin II. However, this peptide was also a partial agonist at concentrations required to inhibit the steroidogenic effect of angiotensin II on dog adrenal cells, and never reduced aldosterone production to basal levels. On a molar basis, the [Sar1, Ala8] and [Sar1, Gly8]derivatives of angiotensin II were relatively less potent as competitive inhibitors of angiotensin II-stimulated aldosterone production. However, the [Ala8] and [Gly8]-analogues did not exhibit significant agonist activity and were therefore more effective antagonists of angiontensin II-stimulated aldosterone production. These results suggest that increased length of the aliphatic side chain at the C-terminus of angiotensin II antagonists is accompanied by enhanced affinity for the receptor site, but also by increased agonist activity upon aldosterone synthesis. The actions of angiotensin II and [Des-Asp1]angiotensin II upon aldosterone production were inhibited identically and completely by [Sar1, Ala8]angiotensin II, and identically, though incompletely, by lower concentrations of [Sar1, Ile8]angiotensin II. The heptapeptide antagonist [Des-Asp1, Ile8]angiotensin II was much less potent than [Sar1, Ile8]angiotensin II as an inhibitor of the actions of both the heptapeptide and octapeptide agonists. The antagonist activity of six angiotensin II analogues at the adrenal level, determined by the concentration required for 50% inhibition of maximum aldosterone secretion, correlated well with their antagonist activity measured upon isolated smooth muscle. These observations demonstrate that the octapeptide antagonists are more effective than the heptapeptide antagonists upon angiotensin II-stimulated aldosterone production, and that angiotensin II receptors in smooth muscle and adrenal cortex exhibit generally similar responses to angiotensin II antagonists. Also, these results do not support the proposal that the [Des-Asp1]heptapeptide is an important intermediate in the action of angiotensin II upon adolesterone production in the adrenal glomerulosa cells. The production of aldosterone by dispersed zona glomerulosa cells in vitro provides a highly sensitive and biologically appropriate response for evaluation of the agonist and antagonist properties of angiotensin II analogues upon the adrenal gland.