Angiotensin II blockade causes acute renal failure in eNOS-deficient mice

Compared with wild-type mice, adult endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) knockout mice (eight months of age) have increased blood pressure (BP) (126±9 mmHg vs. 100±4 mmHg), and an increased renal vascular resistance (155±16 vs. 65±4 mmHg.min/ml). Renal vascular resistance responses to i.v. administration of noradrenaline were markedly enhanced in eNOS knockout mice. Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) of anaesthetised eNOS -/- mice was 324±57 µl/min gKW, significantly lower than the GFR of 761±126 µl/min.gKW in wild-type mice. AT1-receptor blockade with i.v. candesartan (1-1.5 mg/kg) reduced arterial blood pressure and renal vascular resistance, and increased renal blood flow (RBF) to about the same extent in wild-type and eNOS -/- mice. Candesartan did not alter GFR in wild-type mice (761±126 vs. 720±95 µl/min.gKW), but caused a marked decrease in GFR in eNOS -/- mice (324.5±75.2 vs. 77±18 µl/min.gKW). A similar reduction in GFR of eNOS deficient mice was also caused by angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibition. Afferent arteriolar granularity, a measure of renal renin expression, was found to be reduced in eNOS -/- compared with wild-type mice. In chronically eNOS-deficient mice, angiotensin II (Ang II) is critical for maintaining glomerular filtration pressure and GFR, presumably through its effect on efferent arteriolar tone.