[Changes in the activity of renal intracortical kallikrein during induction of Goldblatt arterial hypertension of the 2 kidney--1 clip type in the rat].

Renal tissue kallikrein and proteins were measured in two kidney-one clip Goldblatt hypertensive rats both in the stenotic and the controlateral kidney and in sham operated rats at either 1 or 2 weeks after clipping. Activity was assessed by the amidolytic activity and by the kininogenase activity. Kallikrein in normotensive controls was 97.4 +/- 13 ng of bradykinin min-1 mg-1 of protein at week 1 and increased up to 116 +/- 18. Kallikrein in the GH rats was 83 +/- 12 in the stenotic kidney and 85,6 +/- 14 in the controlateral one at week 1, these values remained unchanged at week 2. As a consequence renal tissue kallikrein became significantly lower in the GH rats only at week 2 when compared to controls both the clipped and unclipped kidney showed the same magnitude decrease. Protein concentration remained at a steady level through out the 2 weeks of study. The results suggest that the lower renal kallikrein activity secondary to hypertension found in GH rats result from a decreased activation of prekallikrein in both kidney.