The SHHF/Mcc-fa(cp) (spontaneous hypertension and heart failure) rat is advanced as a novel and suitable non-primate model of pregnancy-associated hypertension and fetal growth restriction because it simultaneously has spontaneous pregnancy-associated hypertension, small for gestational age (SGA) offsprings, and altered placental gene expression. Pregnancy-associated hypertension is a major contributor to maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality with the potential to result in maternal death and the need for iatrogenic preterm delivery. It has been reported to develop spontaneously in humans, but not in animals; consequently, progress in identifying the cause and pathogenesis of this disorder has been hampered. Spontaneous hypertension and heart failure rats develop hypertension spontaneously as they age, therefore we sought to determine whether these rats developed hypertension and SGA offsprings during pregnancy. Our results show that systolic blood pressure (BP) increased >40 mm Hg by the end of the first trimester and remained at this elevated level for the remainder of pregnancy, but decreased after parturition. Placenta weights of SHHF rats (0.60 +/- 0.02 g, n = 36) were significantly higher than Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats (0.42 +/- 0.01 g, n = 22, P < .05), but pup weights were significantly lower (2.68 +/- 0.06 g for SHHF rats compared to 3.24 +/- 0.06 g for WKY controls, P < .05). Histologic examination revealed pathologic lesions in neither heart, liver, placenta, nor kidney. L-Arginine administered in drinking water prevented the elevation of BP, particularly during the third trimester. Placentas from SHHF rats displayed altered expression of several genes whose protein products have been implicated in preeclampsia, including serotonin receptor, sodium channel, carbonic anhydrase, estrogen receptor regulator, major histocompatibility complex proteins, superoxide dismutase, and angiotensiogen. In addition, gene expression profiling showed alteration of a number of subcellular putative myristoylproteins not previously associated with preeclampsia, particularly those engaged in post-translational modifications in the placenta. Thus, SHHF rats may be a valuable tool, because it simultaneously has spontaneous pregnancy-associated hypertension, SGA offsprings, and altered placental gene expression.

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This study sought to elucidate further the cellular mechanism(s) involved in the control of renin secretion by Ca2+. The rate of renin secretion in vitro by rabbit and dog renal cortical slices was inversely related to medium Ca2+ concentration. The inverse relationship was observed only when the cell membrane permeability to Ca2+ was increased by K+ depolarization, suggesting that the Ca2+ concentration in the juxtaglomerular cell modulates renin secretion. From this relationship, renin secretion appears to turn on at intracellular Ca2+ concentrations between 10(-8) and 10(-7) M. Calmidazolium, a potent calmodulin antagonist, markedly stimulated basal renin secretion in a concentration-dependent manner. Pretreatment of slices with calmidazolium blocked the inhibition of renin secretion by high-K+ medium. Calmidazolium and several other calmodulin antagonists (W-7, W-13, and trifluoperazine) partly or fully reversed the inhibition of renin secretion previously inhibited by high-K+ medium in the order of their potencies as calmodulin antagonists. Indeed, W-5, a biologically inactive structural analogue of W-7, was without effect. These results support the hypothesis that renin secretion is inversely related to intracellular Ca2+ and that Ca2+ inhibits renin secretion by a calmodulin-dependent process.

The mechanism for the inhibition of renin secretion in vitro from renal cortical slices by angiotensin II, antidiuretic hormone, ouabain, and high K+ concentration was studied. The inhibitory effect of these agents was blocked by a Ca antagonist, verapamil. In addition, epinephrine stimulated renin secretion and its stimulatory action was blocked by ouabain. These results support the hypothesis that Ca2+ influx into juxtaglomerular cells plays a role as an inhibitory signal whereas Ca2+ efflux is a stimulatory signal for renin secretion. Renin secretion was greatly stimulated by lowering incubation temperature, indicating that renin secretion is not energy dependent. The possibility is discussed that Ca2+ of juxtaglomerular cells might activate an enzyme(s) that then modulates some sequential steps of renin secretory processes, thereby controlling the rate of renin secretion.