Role of Angiotensin II in Renal Injury of Deoxycorticosterone Acetate-Salt Hypertensive Rats

Abstract To investigate the role of angiotensin II (Ang II) in hypertension-induced tissue injury, we gave TCV-116 (1 mg/kg per day PO), a nonpeptide Ang II type I receptor antagonist, or enalapril (10 mg/kg per day PO) to deoxycor-ticosterone acetate (DOCA)-salt hypertensive rats for 3 weeks and examined the effects on tissue mRNA levels for transforming growth factor-01 (TGF-/31) and extracellular matrix components. Tissue mRNA levels were measured by Northern blot analysis. Renal mRNA levels for TGF-/31; types I, III, and IV collagen; and fibronectin in DOCA-salt hypertensive rats were increased by severalfold (P<.01) compared with sham-operated rats. In the aorta of DOCA-salt hypertensive rats, TGF-01 and fibronectin mRNA levels were increased, but types I, III, and IV collagen mRNAs did not increase. In the heart, increased mRNA was found onl