Hwang Bang H, Chan Prince, Peters Tim
Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA.
J Biomed Sci. 2004 May-Jun;11(3):331-8. doi: 10.1007/BF02254437.
The locus ceruleus (LC) contains a high density of angiotensin II (AII) receptors. The role of AII receptors at the LC in genetic hypertension and organ function is unclear. Spontaneously hypertensive (SHR) rats and Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats were studied, and blood pressure of animals was measured using the tail-cuff method. Animals were decapitated and the heart weight (HW) and testicular weight (TW) of animals measured. AII receptor binding was carried out by incubating the LC tissue sections with 200 pM [(125)I]-AII receptor ligand, and measured using quantitative autoradiography. Results showed that the HW/BW ratio was significantly higher in SHR rats than WKY rats. However, the TW/BW ratio was higher in SHR rats than WKY rats only at two hypertensive stages, whereas AII receptor binding capacity in the LC was also statistically higher in SHR rats than WKY rats. Results indicated that cardiac and testicular hypertrophies were related to higher AII receptor binding in the LC of SHR rats, when compared with WKY rats. Interestingly, the literature shows that there is an LC-testes axis. In conclusion, this study indicated that AII receptors in the LC are associated with genetic hypertension, and testicular weight could be a reasonable index for essential hypertension.
蓝斑（LC）含有高密度的血管紧张素II（AII）受体。AII受体在LC中对遗传性高血压和器官功能的作用尚不清楚。对自发性高血压（SHR）大鼠和Wistar-Kyoto（WKY）大鼠进行了研究，并使用尾套法测量动物的血压。将动物断头并测量其心脏重量（HW）和睾丸重量（TW）。通过用200 pM [(125)I]-AII受体配体孵育LC组织切片进行AII受体结合，并使用定量放射自显影法进行测量。结果显示，SHR大鼠的HW/BW比值显著高于WKY大鼠。然而，仅在两个高血压阶段，SHR大鼠的TW/BW比值高于WKY大鼠，而SHR大鼠LC中的AII受体结合能力在统计学上也高于WKY大鼠。结果表明，与WKY大鼠相比，SHR大鼠心脏和睾丸肥大与LC中较高的AII受体结合有关。有趣的是，文献表明存在一条LC-睾丸轴。总之，本研究表明LC中的AII受体与遗传性高血压有关，睾丸重量可能是原发性高血压的一个合理指标。
