Sodium balance and renin regulation in rats: role of intrinsic renal mechanisms.

Renin secretion was compared in vivo and in vitro among five groups of rats, each group subjected to a different sodium balance for 10 to 14 days. The state of the renin-angiotensin system in vivo was evaluated by measuring the renal renin (RR) and the plasma renin concentration (PRC) in both anesthetized and nonanesthetized animals. The in vitro renin secretion rate (RSR) was determined in isolated perfused kidneys. RR was reduced (-48%) by sodium loading and deoxycorticosterone (DOCA) and increased (+27%) by sodium deprivation and furosemide. Sodium loading and DOCA reduced both the PRC and the RSR to less than 20% of control values. By contrast, sodium deprivation and furosemide induced a more than fourfold rise in the PRC but only a small increase in the RSR (+37%). These results indicate that changes in fractional renin release are induced by sodium balance variation, and these changes are preserved in vitro only in sodium-loaded states. The inability of sodium-deprived kidneys to maintain high renin release in vitro suggests that high plasma renin levels in these rats depend on mechanisms that are not preserved in vitro. There was no evidence supporting the participation of inactive renin secretion in the regulation of fractional renin release under varying sodium balance.