Mori Nobuyoshi, Hirose Takuo, Nakayama Takashi, Ito Osamu, Kanazawa Masayuki, Imai Yutaka, Kohzuki Masahiro, Takahashi Kazuhiro, Totsune Kazuhito
Department of Internal Medicine and Rehabilitation Science, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai 980-8574, Japan.
Peptides. 2009 Feb;30(2):400-8. doi: 10.1016/j.peptides.2008.09.021. Epub 2008 Oct 8.
Urotensin II-related peptide (URP) is a novel vasoactive peptide that shares urotensin II receptor (UT) with urotensin II. In order to clarify possible changes of URP expression in hypertension and chronic renal failure (CRF), the expressions of URP and UT were studied by quantitative RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry in kidneys obtained from spontaneous hypertensive rats (SHR), Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKY), and WKY with CRF due to 5/6 nephrectomy. Expression levels of URP mRNA and UT mRNA were significantly higher in the kidneys obtained from SHR compared with age-matched WKY (at 5-16 and 16 weeks old, respectively). A dissection study of the kidney into three portions (inner medulla, outer medulla and cortex) showed that the expression levels of URP mRNA and UT mRNA were highest in the inner medulla and the outer medulla, respectively, in both SHR and WKY. The expression levels of URP and UT mRNAs were greatly elevated in the remnant kidneys of CRF rats at day 56 after nephrectomy, compared with sham-operated rats (about 6.5- and 11.9-fold, respectively). Immunohistochemistry showed that URP immunostaining was found mainly in the renal tubules, vascular smooth muscle cells and vascular endothelial cells. UT immunoreactivity was localized in the renal tubules and vascular endothelial cells. These findings suggest that the expressions of URP and UT mRNAs in the kidney are enhanced in hypertension and CRF, and that URP and its receptor have important pathophysiological roles in these diseases.
尾加压素 II 相关肽（URP）是一种新型血管活性肽，与尾加压素 II 共用尾加压素 II 受体（UT）。为了阐明高血压和慢性肾衰竭（CRF）中 URP 表达的可能变化，采用定量逆转录聚合酶链反应（RT-PCR）和免疫组织化学方法，研究了自发性高血压大鼠（SHR）、Wistar-Kyoto 大鼠（WKY）以及因 5/6 肾切除导致 CRF 的 WKY 大鼠肾脏中 URP 和 UT 的表达。与年龄匹配的 WKY 大鼠（分别在 5 - 16 周龄和 16 周龄时）相比，SHR 大鼠肾脏中 URP mRNA 和 UT mRNA 的表达水平显著更高。将肾脏分为三个部分（内髓质、外髓质和皮质）进行分析表明，在 SHR 和 WKY 大鼠中，URP mRNA 的表达水平在内髓质最高，而 UT mRNA 的表达水平在外髓质最高。肾切除术后第 56 天，与假手术大鼠相比，CRF 大鼠残余肾脏中 URP 和 UT mRNA 的表达水平大幅升高（分别约为 6.5 倍和 11.9 倍）。免疫组织化学显示，URP 免疫染色主要见于肾小管、血管平滑肌细胞和血管内皮细胞。UT 免疫反应性定位于肾小管和血管内皮细胞。这些发现表明，高血压和 CRF 时肾脏中 URP 和 UT mRNA 的表达增强，且 URP 及其受体在这些疾病中具有重要的病理生理作用。
