Vol. 285, Issue 3, 1012-1018, June 1998

Differential Contribution of Angiotensinergic and Cholinergic Receptors in the Hypothalamic Paraventricular Nucleus to Osmotically Induced AVP Release¹

Fatimunnisa Qadri, Thomas Waldmann, Achim Wolf, Susanne Höhle, Wolfgang Rascher and Thomas Unger

Institute of Pharmacology, University of Kiel, Kiel, Germany (F.Q., T.W., A.W., S.H., T.U.) and Department of Pediatrics, University of Giessen, Giessen, Germany (W.R.)

We studied the involvement of periventricular and hypothalamic angiotensinergic and cholinergic pathways in osmotically induced arginine vasopressin (AVP) release into the blood. In conscious Wistar rats, i.c.v. injections of 0.2, 0.3 and 0.6 M hyperosmolar saline (5 µl) resulted in concentration-dependent increases in AVP release (5.2 ± 1.5, 10.6 ± 2.2 and 18.0 ± 2.2 pg/ml, respectively, vs. 2.0 ± 0.1 in controls). The two lower saline concentrations did not affect arterial blood pressure (non-pressure-associated AVP release), whereas 0.6 M saline induced increase in blood pressure (pressure-associated AVP release). In the first set of experiments, periventricular angiotensin AT1, muscarinic or nicotinic receptors were blocked by i.c.v. administration of losartan (10 nmol), atropine (100 nmol) or hexamethonium (100 nmol), respectively, before i.c.v. hyperosmolar saline injections. Losartan significantly reduced the 0.2 M and 0.3 M, but not the 0.6 M, saline-induced increase in AVP release. The 0.3 M saline-induced AVP release was blocked by atropine and hexamethonium, whereas the 0.6 M saline-induced AVP release was blocked by atropine only. In the second set of experiments, losartan (4 nmol), atropine (200 nmol) or hexamethonium (200 nmol) was injected bilaterally into the paraventricular nucleus before i.c.v. hyperosmolar saline injections. Losartan reduced 0.3 M and potentiated 0.6 M saline-induced AVP release. On the other hand, atropine and hexamethonium significantly reduced both 0.3 and 0.6 M saline-induced AVP release. We conclude that afferents arising from periventricular osmosensitive neurons to the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus, which are involved in non-pressure-associated osmotically induced AVP release, are both angiotensinergic and cholinergic, whereas those mediating pressure-associated AVP release are cholinergic in nature.