Renin-Angiotensin System: I: (The Juxtaglomerular Apparatus)

Ch
Renin-Angiotensin System: I
(The Juxtaglomerular Apparatus)
Although hypophysectomy is not life-threatening, bilateral adrenalectomy is (Part A). The life-maintaining principles supplied by the
adrenal cortices are cortisol, a glucocorticoid, and perhaps more
importantly the renal Na+-retaining and K+-secreting mineralocorticoid,
aldosterone, which is produced by cells of the zona glomerulosa
(Ch. 26). Aldosterone deficiency, whether it occurs in an experimental
animal or in a patient, results in hyperkalemia, metabolic acidosis,
hyponatremia, peripheral circulatory failure, renal failure, and
inexorably, death. Aldosterone secretion is only one of many factors
affecting urinary Na + excretion. Other factors include the
glomerular filtration rate (GFR), which directly affects the amount
of time functional nephrons have to reabsorb Na+; the natriuretic
peptides (i.e., ANP, BNP, CNP and urodilatin; Ch. 31); the presence
or absence of osmotic diuresis; and changes in tubular Na+
reabsorption independent of aldosterone, for this steroid controls
only 3% of renal Na+ reabsorption. It should also be noted that
although aldosterone is an important hormone in the control of Na+
balance, an acute reduction in plasma Na+ of about 20 mEq/L is
needed to stimulate aldosterone release, and changes of this
magnitude are rare. However, the plasma K+ concentration need
increase only 1 mEq/L to stimulate aldosterone release, and transient
increases of this magnitude may be expected following a K+-rich
meal.
Another factor controlling aldosterone release is the
reninangiotensin system, a multifactorial physiologic control
system working to control blood pressure and volume. A major
component of the reninangiotensin system is the juxtaglomerular
(JG) apparatus of the kidney. The JG apparatus is a combination of
specialized vascular and tubular cells located near the glomerulus,
where afferent and efferent arterioles come into close contact with
the distal tubule (Part B). The JG cells are specialized myoepithelial
cells of the afferent arteriole that synthesize, store, and secrete into
blood a proteolytic enzyme called renin (not to be confused with
rennin, a milk clotting enzyme secreted by the stomachs of young
animals). Macula densa cells are specialized distal renal tubular
epithelial cells that sense the low NaCl concentration of the filtrate,
and directly signal JG cells to secrete renin into blood. When
glomerular filtration is reduced (e.g., following blood loss), there is
more time for NaCI reabsorption in the proximal nephron, and
therefore the filtrate in the distal tubule will have a reduced NaCI
concentration. Other factors that promote and inhibit renin release
are listed in Part B. The circulating half-life of this polypeptide in
plasma is about 15 minutes.
Part C depicts the processes involved in the reninangiotensin
system. Circulating renin splits the end off a liver-derived plasma
protein called angiotensinogen (or renin substrate), thus generating the decapeptide angiotensin I. Within a few seconds, two
additional amino acids are split off angiotensin I to form angiotensin
II. This conversion occurs mainly in pulmonary capillary endothelial
cells through the activity of dipeptidyl carboxypeptidase, otherwise
known as angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE). This enzyme is
found to a lesser degree in blood plasma and renal tissue.
Angiotensin II persists in blood for approximately 1 minute, but it
is rapidly inactivated by a number of different blood and tissue
enzymes collectively called angiotensinase (Part D, Ch. 28). While
active in blood, angiotensin II stimulates aldosterone synthesis and
release from the adrenal cortex, among other actions.
Angiotensin II is one of the most potent known vasoconstrictors. It
promotes norepinephrine release from sympathetic nerve endings (Ch.
33), as well as epinephrine and norepinephrine release from the adrenal
medulla. It also vasoconstricts peripheral arterioles, efferent arterioles
of the kidney, and to a lesser extent, veins. Primary stimuli for
angiotensin generation are a decrease in blood volume and/or
54
Quick Look: Metabolic and Endocrine Physiology, Third Edition
pressure (e.g., hemorrhage), and a decrease in the glomerular

filtration rate (GFR).
Arteriolar constriction increases peripheral resistance, thereby
raising arterial pressure back toward normal. Also, mild constriction of
veins increases mean circulatory filling pressure, sometimes by as
much as 20%, which promotes an increased tendency for venous return
of blood to the heart (i.e., preload), helping it to pump against the
extra pressure load.
Other effects of angiotensin ll are primarily related to more long-term
body fluid volume restoration: 1) it has a direct effect on proximal
tubules of the kidneys to enhance NaCI reabsorption; 2) it stimulates
aldosterone secretion; 3) it stimulates thirst; and 4) it promotes ADH
and ACTH secretion. Angiotensin II also decreases sensitivity of the
barorecept or reflex, thus potentiating its pressor effects.
A metabolic product of angiotensin II, des-Asp-angiotensin II or
angiotensin III, is as potent as angiotensin II in releasing aldosterone
but is a less effective pressor agent. It is important in rats, where it
accounts for almost 60% of angiotensin activity. In humans and dogs,
only about 10% of angiotensin activity is attributable to angiotensin III.
Fu rther catabolism of angiotensin III produces a hexapeptide known as
angiotensin IV, which is thought to have little biologic activity.
There appears to be two major classes of angiotensin II receptors
(AT1 and AT2) on plasma membranes of target cells, with the AT1 class
being further subdivided into AT1A and AT1B receptors. The AT1
receptors are coupled to a G-stimulatory (Gs) protein, which activates
phospholipase C (PLC) and catalyzes hydrolysis of phosphatidylinositol
4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2) from the plasma membrane to produce diacylglycerol (DG) and inositol triphosphate (IP3; Ch. 5). The IP3, in turn,
promotes Ca2+ release into the cytoplasm. The AT2 receptors also act
via a Gs protein, however they activate various phosphatases within
cells, which in turn antagonize growth effects and open K+ channels.
Additionally, AT2 receptor activation increases nitric oxide (NO)
production, which in turn acts through cGMP.
The AT2 receptors are more plentiful in the fetus and neonate,
where they may be assisting in maintaining a rather low vascular
resistance. However, they apparently persist in the brain and other
organs of adult animals. The AT1A subtype is found in blood vessel
walls, in the brain, and in several other organs, and appears to help
mediate many of the known effects of angiotensin II. High levels of
angiotensin II down-regulate AT1A receptors, while AT1B receptors are
up-regulated. The AT1B receptors are found primarily in the pituitary
and adrenal cortex, where high circulating levels of angiotensin II can
help to assure adequate ADH, ACTH, and aldosterone output.
In addition to the classic multiorgan system described above that
generates circulating angiotensin II, several different tissues of the
body appear to contain independent reninangiotensin systems that
can generate this polypeptide, apparently for local use. Components
of this system, for example, are found in walls of blood vessels, in the
uterus and placenta, and in fetal membranes, and prorenin is found in
amniotic fluid. In addition, components of this system have also been
identified in the eyes, exocrine pancreas, heart, adrenal cortex,
testes, ovaries, anterior pituitary, pineal, and brain.
Although these local systems do not appear to contribute significantly to circulating renin or angiotensin levels under normal conditions,
they may do so with malignancy. For example, certain renin-secreting
ovarian tumors have been known to cause hypertension.
Angiotensin II does not cross the BBB, but it affects circumventricular
organs of the CNS (i.e., the subfornical organ, organum vasculosum of
the lamina terminalis, and area postrema that lack a classical BBB).
Through these organs it can produce neurally-mediated increases in
blood pressure, and increase water intake.
Renin-Angiotensin System: I
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Renin-Angiotensin System: I: (The Juxtaglomerular Apparatus)

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Quick Look: Metabolic and Endocrine Physiology, Third Edition

pressure (e.g., hemorrhage), and a decrease in the glomerular

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