Preoptic angiotensin and salt appetite.

Two experiments were designed to test whether angiotensin (ANG) synthesis or receptor activation in the ventral preoptic region is critical for ANG-induced salt appetite in rats. In Experiment 1, infusions of ANG into the subfornical organ (SFO) produced water drinking without saline intake, but infusions near the organum vasculosum laminae terminalis (OVLT) produced both water and saline drinking. Thus, forebrain areas that support water drinking to ANG do not all support salt appetite. In Experiment 2, rats were given oral captopril (CAP) to enhance daily intake of water and saline solution by increasing ANG II synthesis in the brain. CAP microinjected into the SFO reduced CAP-enhanced water drinking without affecting saline intake, but CAP in the OVLT reduced enhanced saline intake without affecting water drinking. Thus, ANG acting in the OVLT, the most ventral part of the median preoptic nucleus, or other nearby structures is important for ANG-induced salt appetite.