Erratum: Brain, Heart and Kidney Correlate for the Control of Blood Pressure and Water Balance: Role of Angiotensinases

The renin-angiotensin system (RAS) plays a major role in the control of blood pressure (BP) and water balance by coordinating brain, heart and kidney functions, connected with each other by hormonal and neural mechanisms through the autonomic nervous system (ANS). RAS function may be monitored by the study of the enzymes (angiotensinases) involved in the metabolism of its active peptides. In order to study the relationship between the brain-heart-kidney axis and the control of BP and water balance, we analyzed the correlation of angiotensinase activities, assayed as arylamidase activities, between hypothalamus, left ventricle, renal cortex and renal medulla, collected from Wistar-Kyoto and spontaneously hypertensive rats, treated or not treated with L-NAME [N(G)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester]. This compound not only inhibits the formation of nitric oxide but also disrupts the normal function of the ANS activating the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) to increase BP. In addition, to assess the influence of the SNS, we studied the effect of its blockade by treatment of both strains with propranolol. The present results support the notion that RAS function of the brain-heart-kidney axis, as reflected by the activities of angiotensinases, is reciprocally connected by afferent and efferent mechanisms between these locations, presumably through the ANS. These results reveal new aspects of neuroendocrine regulation possibly involving the ANS.

肾素-血管紧张素系统（renin-angiotensin system, RAS）通过激素与神经机制，经由自主神经系统（autonomic nervous system, ANS）实现脑、心脏与肾脏的功能协同，在血压（blood pressure, BP）调控及水平衡维持中发挥核心作用。对RAS功能的监测可通过研究其活性肽代谢过程中涉及的酶类——血管紧张素酶（angiotensinases）来开展。为探究脑-心-肾轴与血压及水平衡调控的关联，本研究分析了采集自Wistar-Kyoto大鼠与自发性高血压大鼠的下丘脑、左心室、肾皮质及肾髓质组织中，以芳基酰胺酶活性为检测指标的血管紧张素酶活性的相关性；所有实验动物均经L-NAME [N(G)-硝基-L-精氨酸甲酯] 处理或未做处理。L-NAME不仅可抑制一氧化氮的合成，还可破坏自主神经系统的正常功能，具体表现为激活交感神经系统（sympathetic nervous system, SNS）以升高血压。此外，为评估交感神经系统的调控影响，本研究采用普萘洛尔处理两种大鼠，以阻断交感神经信号通路。本研究结果支持如下观点：以血管紧张素酶活性反映的脑-心-肾轴RAS功能，可通过传入与传出机制在上述器官间实现双向互联，该通路大概率经由自主神经系统介导。本研究结果揭示了可能涉及自主神经系统的神经内分泌调控新机制。