Renin Release, an Artifact of Anesthesia and its Implications in Rats (38597)

In our attempt to find an anesthetic agent which did not influence the renin-angiotensin system in the rat, the effect of widely used injectable and gaseous anesthetics and narcotic agents on renin release was characterized. All of the agents studied induced dose- and time-related increases in serum renin activity when administered in anesthetic doses. Preliminary experiments indicated that cardiovascular effects were highly variable, giving little insight into the relationship between renin release and cardiovascular changes. Propranolol impaired most of the anesthesia-induced renin release and impaired aldosterone release with the one agent (urethane) studied. Renin release by two anesthetic agents (ketamine and urethane) appeared to be mediated primarily through the beta-adrener-gic receptor mechanism, but equivocal results were obtained with other agents (pento-barbital and morphine). It is possible that other anesthetics, as with urethane, may induce aldosterone release by way of renin release. This anesthesia-induced renin release and the extensive biologic activities of angio-tensin and aldosterone suggest a potential for influencing many investigations, particularly those involving cardiovascular and endocrine systems. The antibody used in radioimmunoassay of aldosterone was a gift of the National Institute of Arthritis and Metabolic Diseases. This work was supported by grants from the American Heart Association, Hoffman-La Roche Fdn., The Merck Fdn. and Institutional Grant No. 5-S01-RR-05426-10. William A. Pettinger, M.D., is a Burroughs-Well-come Scholar in Clinical Pharmacology.