A novel approach was employed to assess the contribution of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) to obstructive nephropathy in neonatal mice having zero to four functional copies of the angiotensinogen gene (Agt). Two-day-old mice underwent unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) or sham operation; 28 days later, renal interstitial fibrosis and tubular atrophy were quantitated. In all Agt genotypes, UUO reduced ipsilateral renal mass and increased that of the opposite kidney. Renal interstitial collagen increased after UUO linearly with Agt expression, from a fractional area of 25% in zero-copy mice to 54% in two-copy mice. Renal expression of transforming growth factor-β1 was increased by ipsilateral UUO in mice expressing Agt, but not in zero-copy mice. However, the prevalence of atrophic tubules due to UUO did not vary with Agt expression. Blood pressure was not different in all groups, except for a reduction in sham zero-copy mice. We conclude that a functional RAS is not necessary for compensatory renal growth. This study demonstrates conclusively that angiotensin regulates at least 50% of the renal interstitial fibrotic response in obstructive nephropathy, an effect independent of systemic hemodynamic changes. Angiotensininduced fibrosis likely is a mechanism common to the progression of many forms of renal disease.

Independently, plasma K+and ANG II stimulate aldosterone secretion from adrenal glomerulosa (AG) cells, but together they synergistically control production. We studied mechanisms to mediate this synergy using bovine AG cells studied under physiological conditions (in 1.25 mM Ca2+ at 37°C). Increasing K+ from 2 to 5 mM caused a potentiation of ANG II-induced aldosterone secretion and a substantial membrane depolarization (∼21 mV). ANG II inhibited a K+-selective conductance in both 2 and 5 mM K+ but caused only a slight depolarization because, under both conditions, membrane potential was close to the reversal potential of the ANG II-induced current. ANG II activated calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) equivalently in 2 and 5 mM K+. However, CaMKII activation caused a hyperpolarizing shift in the activation of T-type Ca2+ channels, such that substantially more current was elicited at membrane potentials established by 5 mM K+. We propose that synergy in aldosterone secretion results from K+-induced depolarization and ANG II-induced modulation of T-type channel activation, such that together they promote enhanced steady-state Ca2+ flux.

Angiotensin II (ANG II) is the most potent and the most physiologically important stimulator of aldosterone synthesis and secretion from the adrenal zona glomerulosa. Because steroidogenesis by adrenal glomerulosa (AG) cells is mediated in part by Ca2+ influx through T- and L-type Ca2+ channels, we evaluated whether T-type Ca2+ channels are regulated by ANG II. We observe that ANG II enhances T-type Ca2+ current by shifting the voltage dependence of channel activation to more negative potentials. This shift is transduced by the ANG II type 1 receptor. The effect of the hormone is not mediated by Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) as it is not prevented by CaMKII(281-302), a peptide inhibitor of the catalytic region of the kinase. Rather, this shift is mediated by the activation of a G protein, Gi, because it is abolished by cell pretreatment with pertussis toxin and by cell dialysis with a monoclonal antibody generated against recombinant Gi alpha. This effect of ANG II on T-type Ca2+ channels should increase Ca2+ entry in AG cells at physiologically relevant voltages and result in a sustained increase in aldosterone secretion.

The T-type Ca2+ channel is unique among voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels in its low threshold for opening and its slow kinetics of deactivation. Here, we evaluate the importance of intracellular Ca2+ (Cai2+) in promoting low-threshold gating of T-type channels in adrenal glomerulosa cells. We observe that 390 nM to 1.27 microM Cai2+ enhances T-type current by shifting the voltage dependence of channel activation to more negative potentials. This Ca(2+)-induced shift is mediated by calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII), because it is abolished by inhibitors of CaMKII but not of protein kinase C and is subsequently restored by exogenous calmodulin. This Ca(2+)-induced reduction in gating threshold would render T-type Ca2+ channels uniquely suited to transduce depolarizing stimuli of low amplitude into a Ca2+ signal sufficient to support a physiological response.

We recently reported that elevations in the intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) enhance low-voltage-activated, T-type, Ca2+ channel activity via Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII). Here, we document CaMKII activity in bovine adrenal glomerulosa (AG) cells and assess the importance of CaMKII in depolarization-induced Ca2+ signaling. AG cell extracts exhibited kinase activity toward a CaMKII-selective peptide substrate that was dependent on both Ca2+ [half-maximal concentration for Ca2+ activation (K0.5) = 1.5 microM] and calmodulin (K0.5 = 46 nM) and was sensitive to a calmodulin antagonist and a CaMKII peptide inhibitor. On cell treatment with elevated extracellular potassium (10-60 mM) or angiotensin II, Ca(2+)-independent CaMKII activity increased to 133-205% of basal activity. Ca(2+)-independent kinase activity in agonist-stimulated extracts was inhibited by the CaMKII inhibitor peptide, 1(-)[N,O-bis(1,5- isoquinolinesulfonyl)-N-methyl-L-tyrosyl]-4-phenylpiperazine (KN-62), a cell-permeable inhibitor of CaMKII, reduced the agonist-induced stimulation of Ca(2+)-independent CaMKII activity. KN-62 also diminished depolarization-induced increases in [Ca2+]i without affecting the membrane potential. These observations suggest that CaMKII is activated in situ by aldosterone secretagogues and augments Ca2+ signaling through voltage-gated Ca2+ channels.