Imidazoline receptor antisera-selected (IRAS) cDNA: cloning and characterization.

The imidazoline-1 receptor (IR1) is considered a novel target for drug discovery. Toward cloning an IR1, a truncated cDNA clone was isolated from a human hippocampal lambda gt11 cDNA expression library by relying on the selectivity of two antisera directed against candidate IR proteins. Amplification reactions were performed to extend the 5' and 3' ends of this cDNA, followed by end-to-end PCR and conventional cloning. The resultant 5131-basepair molecule, designated imidazoline receptor-antisera-selected (IRAS) cDNA, was shown to encode a 1504-amino acid protein (IRAS-1). No relation exists between the amino acid sequence of IRAS-1 and proteins known to bind imidazolines (e.g., it is not an alpha2-adrenoceptor or monoamine oxidase subtype). However, certain sequences within IRAS-1 are consistent with signaling motifs found in cytokine receptors, as previously suggested for an IR1. An acidic region in IRAS-1 having an amino acid sequence nearly identical to that of ryanodine receptors led to the demonstration that ruthenium red, a dye that binds the acidic region in ryanodine receptors, also stained IRAS-1 as a 167-kD band on SDS gels and inhibited radioligand binding of native I1 sites in untransfected PC-12 cells (a source of authentic I1 binding sites). Two epitope-selective antisera were also generated against IRAS-1, and both reacted with the same 167-kD band on Western blots. In a host-cell-specific manner, transfection of IRAS cDNA into Chinese hamster ovary cells led to high-affinity I1 binding sites by criteria of nanomolar affinity for moxonidine and rilmenidine. Thus, IRAS-1 is the first protein discovered with characteristics of an IR1.

Refeeding hypertension in dietary obesity.

A novel model of nutritionally induced hypertension in the rat is described. Dietary obesity was produced by providing sweet milk in addition to regular chow, which elicited a 52% increase in caloric intake. Despite 54% greater body weight gain and 139% heavier retroperitoneal fat pads, 120 days of overfeeding failed to increase systolic pressure in the conscious state (125 +/- 8 vs. 121 +/- 4 mmHg in chow-fed controls) or mean arterial pressure under urethan anesthesia (71 +/- 4 vs. 63 +/- 3 mmHg). In contrast, mild hypertension developed in intermittantly fasted obese animals (a 21-mmHg increase in systolic blood pressure measured in the conscious state and a 16-mmHg increase in mean arterial pressure under anesthesia relative to chow-fed controls). The first 4-day supplemented fast was initiated 4 wk after the introduction of sweet milk, when the animals were 47 g overweight relative to chow-fed controls. Thereafter, 4 days of starvation were alternated with 2 wk of refeeding for a total of 4 cycles. A rapid fall in systolic blood pressure (12 +/- 2 mmHg at 2 days) accompanied the onset of supplemented fasting and was maintained thereafter (2.7 +/- 2.6 mmHg further decrease during the latter half of the fast). With refeeding, blood pressure rose precipitously (13 +/- 3 mmHg in the 1st 2 days), despite poststarvation anorexia. Blood pressure tended to rise slightly over the remainder of the realimentation period (5.2 +/- 2.8 mmHg). After the 4th supplemented fast, hypertension was sustained during 30 days of refeeding. Cumulative caloric intake in starved-refed rats fell within 2% of that in chow-fed controls.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Paraventricular--suprachiasmatic lesions prevent salt-induced hypertension in Dahl rats.

1. We studied the effects that lesions produced in the paraventricular and suprachiasmatic nuclei and intervening periventricular area had on 24 h mean circadian blood pressures in Dahl salt-sensitive and -resistant rats and their sham-operated controls. We measured blood pressures while the animals were on a low salt diet and after 1, 5 and 13 weeks of 8% NaCl diet. 2. Salt-sensitive rats with lesions had lower blood pressures than salt-sensitive sham-operated controls at all points of the study. In contrast, identical lesions in salt-resistant rats produced a transient pressor response to the diet. Twenty-four hour mean heart rate, determined after 13 weeks of 8% NaCl intake, was low only in salt-sensitive rats with lesions. Sodium intake and excretion per kg of body weight, as well as plasma sodium concentrations, were similar in all groups. 3. We conclude that the anteromedial hypothalamic area, which includes the paraventricular nucleus, the suprachiasmatic nucleus and the intervening periventricular area, participates in the development of Dahl hypertension. We suggest that a multifactorial mechanism is involved: (a) the facilitatory role of this region in ACTH release, (b) this region's participation in the baroreceptor reflex via vasopressinergic efferents to the nucleus of the tractus solitarius, and (c) the roles of the paraventricular and suprachiasmatic nuclei in the regulation of salt and water balance.