Abstract
Summary
In renal hypertensive rats whose hypertension was induced by a figure-in-eight ligature of one kidney and the removal of the contralateral one, a significant increase in blood kininogen was found (P < 0.001). Kininogen determination was carried out using trypsin as kininogenase, and the kinins formed were tested by using two bioassays: isolated rat uterus and cat jejunum. Kininogen average values in 15 hypertensive rats were equivalent to 7.75 ± 6.2 μg Br/ml when using the uterus, and 4.1 ± 1.5 with the cat jejunum bioassay. In a control group of 14 rats, both biological tests gave the average values of 2.15 ± 64 and 1.4 ± 33 μg Br/ml, respectively. In the hypertensive rats, a significant increase in uremia was also observed. Results indicate that the renal impairment produced by the kidney ligature alters the kallikrein substrate in the blood and lend support to the theory that renal kallikrein might be involved in some systemic regulation.
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