Endogenous renin-angiotensin system and drinking behavior in flounder.

High rates of drinking in seawater-adapted, compared with freshwater (FW)-adapted, flounder were associated with raised plasma chloride and osmotic concentrations. Hypotension in FW-adapted fish, after papaverine administration, gave rise to greatly elevated rates of drinking. This dipsogenic response apparently relied on activation of the endogenous renin-angiotensin system (RAS) and was abolished by simultaneous administration of the converting enzyme inhibitor, captopril. Exogenous angiotensin II was shown to be dipsogenic and vasopressor in the FW-adapted fish. The physiological importance of the activation of the RAS in the control of drinking behavior in euryhaline fish is discussed.