Abstract:
Arterial hypertension is the common cause of cardiovascular diseases such as stroke, myocardial infarction, and end stage renal failure. Functional links between the dopaminergic system and renal hemodynamics have been described in man as well as in animal models.
In the present study the influence of the dopamine D3 receptor on the regulation of arterial blood pressure under different sodium loading conditions was studied by investigating dopamine D3 receptor knockout-mice (-/-) and the corresponding wild-type animals (+/+) on low salt (LS), normal salt (NS), and high salt (HS) diet. In addition, mice at the age of 3 and 11 months were used according to the same protocol to examine age-dependent effects. Arterial blood pressure of dopamine D3 receptor knockout- and wild-type mice was measured by tail-cuff plethysmography. The sodium excretion, glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and urinary dopamine excretion (UDAV) was investigated by metabolic cage experiments. Furthermore, the concentration of dopamine in plasma as well as the content in the kidney tissue was determined, and morphological studies were carried out as well. A potential interactions between the dopamine D3 receptor and the blood pressure modulation by AT1 receptors was observed by injection of different doses of human AT II. In a second series, the potential influence of the dopamine D3 receptor on renin-secretion was studied by using isolated rat juxtaglomerular cells. The freshly isolated cells were superfused with dopamine and dopaminergic agonists and antagonists in different concentrations to determine their potential stimulatory or inhibitory effect on renin-secretion.
The blood pressure of dopamine D3 receptor knockout- and wild-type animals was almost independent of the applied sodium diet, age and genotype. Only 11-months old (-/-)-mice that were fed a LS- or HS-diet showed a significantly elevated blood pressure when compared to their corresponding (+/+)-animals. Net renal sodium balance, determined by metabolic cage experiments, was lower in 11-months old animals than in the respective younger ones. Genotype-related differences in net sodium balance were observed in 3-months old (-/-)-mice on HS-diet, which was higher when compared to their corresponding wild-type mice. No genotype- or age-related differences could be observed concerning GFR, UDAV and dopamine concentration in plasma. However, dopamine content in the kidney tissue was higher in 11-months old mice than in the corresponding younger ones. The morphologic parameters did not differ between the groups. The application of AT II increased blood pressure to a similar quantitative and qualitative extent in both genotypes.
Dopamine in concentrations between 10-9 M and 10-4 M stimulated the renin-secretion from isolated juxtaglomerular cells concentration-dependently to a maximum of 3.5-fold referred to the respective controls. The effect could be completely antagonized, however, by the selective beta1-receptor antagonist atenolol at a concentration of 10-10 M. The selective dopamine D1 receptor agonist SFK 38393 between 10-13 M and 10-5 M stimulated the renin-secretion up to 2-fold referred to the respective controls, whereas the unselective dopaminergic agonist bromocriptine had no effect. 7-OH-DPAT, a relatively selective dopamine D3 receptor agonist, in concentrations between 10-9 M and 10-5 M, decreased the renin-secretion from isolated juxtaglomerular cells, whereas the stimulatory effect of the selective D3 receptor antagonist BSF 201640 in concentrations between 10-9 M and 10-6 M was similar to that of dopamine in a concentration of 10-6 M.
In conclusion, the lack of the dopamine D3 receptor had no remarkable influence on the blood pressure of mice on low, normal or high sodium diet, or on morphologic characteristics of the kidney. Different renal tissue content of dopamine might indicate age-dependent changes in the renal dopaminergic system. The blockade of the dopamine-induced increase in renin-secretion from isolated juxtaglomerular cells by atenolol indicates that this effect is mainly mediated by adrenergic beta1-receptors, whereas the decrease induced by stimulation of dopamine D3 receptors might be a modulating mechanism. Taken together the data do not support the hypothesis that a lack of the dopamine D3 receptor is crucially involved in the development of salt-dependent hypertension, but provide further evidence for the concept that D3 receptors contribute, potentially via modulating renal hemodynamics, to the long-term regulation of systemic blood pressure.