[Gliovascular changes in the rat central nervous system induced by angiotensin II].

The action of the synthetic polypeptide hormone angiotensin-II (A-II) on the ultrastructure of capillaries and perivascular glia of the cerebral cortex was studied in experiments on adult male rats. Intraperitoneal injections of the hormone are accompanied by swelling of the growing fibers and bodies of the precapillary glia (astrocytes), and by a strong narrowing of the capillary lumen. The endothelium of these vessels swells and layer inclusions appear in the cytoplasm of endothelial cells. The process is characterized by the growth of changes and reaches the maximum day 21 after the drug injections are started. The revealed changes in the pericapillary glia and capillary structure indicate microcirculatory disturbances in the cerebral cortex that may lead to trophic and functional abnormalities of the central nervous system.