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Although the regulation of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression in the kidney cortex has been extensively characterized, the physiological control mechanisms of COX-2 expression at the level of the kidney and at the level of the tubular cells are not well understood. Based on the current hypothesis that tubular salt transport might be a crucial regulator of COX-2 expression, this study aimed to determine the impact of salt delivery to the tubules (glomerular filtration) for the regulation of COX-2 in the kidney cortex in vivo. To this end, glomerular filtration of the right kidney was abrogated by the ligation of the right ureter of male Sprague-Dawley rats. After 1 wk of ligation, the animals were treated with subcutaneous infusions of furosemide (12 mg x kg(-1) x day(-1)) or with a low-salt or a high-salt diet (0.02% wt/wt; 8% wt/wt), and COX-2 as well as renin mRNA expression were determined in the ligated and the nonligated contralateral kidney. During ureteral ligation, hydronephrosis developed with a reduction of medullary mass, while the cortex was preserved. Expressions of the Na-K-2Cl cotransporter isoforms A and B were both reduced in the hydronephrotic cortex to 70 and 35% of the corresponding contralateral intact kidney. Despite the abrogation of glomerular filtration, detected by inulin clearance measurements, renocortical COX-2 mRNA abundance was stimulated by furosemide treatment (3.2-fold) or low-salt diet (2.9-fold) to similar degrees compared with the intact contralateral kidney (2.7-fold for both treatments), whereas a high-salt diet did not significantly suppress COX-2 mRNA in the macula densa region of either kidney. Renin mRNA expression was regulated strictly in parallel in both kidneys, a low-salt diet or furosemide treatment stimulating and a high-salt diet suppressing it. We conclude from these findings that salt delivery to the tubules is not an essential requirement for the upregulation of COX-2 by salt deficiency or by loop diuretics in the rat kidney cortex nor is it for chronic stimulation of renin mRNA expression.

PGE(2) is a potent stimulator of renin release. So far, the contribution of each of the four PGE(2) receptor subtypes (EP(1)-EP(4)) in the regulation of renin release has not been characterized. Therefore, we investigated the effects PGE(2) on renin secretion rates (RSR) from isolated, perfused kidneys of EP(1)-/-, EP(2)-/-, EP(3)-/-, EP(4)-/-, and wild-type mice. PGE(2) concentration dependently stimulated RSR from kidneys of all four knockout strains with a threshold concentration of 1 nM in EP(1)-/-, EP(2)-/-, EP(3)-/-, and wild-type mice, whereas the threshold concentration was shifted to 10 nM in EP(4)-/- mice. Moreover, the maximum stimulation of RSR by PGE(2) at 1 microM was significantly reduced in EP(4)-/- (12.8-fold of control) and EP(2)-/- (15.9-fold) compared with wild-type (20.7-fold), EP(1)-/- (23.8-fold), and EP(3)-/- (20.1-fold). In contrast, stimulation of RSR by either the loop diuretic bumetanide or the beta-adrenoceptor agonist isoproterenol was similar in all strains. PGE(2) exerted a dual effect on renal vascular tone, inducing vasodilatation at low concentrations (1 nmol/) and vasoconstriction at higher concentrations (100 nmol/) in kidneys of wild-type mice. In kidneys of EP(2)-/- as well as EP(4)-/- mice, vasodilatation at low PGE(2) concentrations was prevented, whereas vasoconstriction at higher concentrations was augmented. In contrast, the vasodilatory component was pronounced in kidneys of EP(1) and EP(3) knockout mice, whereas in both genotypes the vasoconstriction at higher PGE(2) concentrations was markedly blunted. Our data provide evidence that PGE(2) stimulates renin release via activation of EP(2) and EP(4) receptors, whereas EP(1) and EP(3) receptors appear to be without functional relevance in juxtaglomerular cells. In contrast, all four receptor subtypes are involved in the control of renal vascular tone, EP(1) and EP(3) receptors increasing, and EP(2) as well as EP(4) receptors, decreasing it.

Experiments were performed in neuronal (nNOS)- and endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS)-deficient mice to study the role of nitric oxide (NO) in macula densa control of renin secretion in vivo and in the isolated, perfused mouse kidney. Acute and chronic administration of loop diuretics was used as a method to stimulate macula densa-mediated renin secretion. Increases in plasma renin concentration (PRC) in response to a 3-day infusion of bumetanide (50 mg.kg(-1).day(-1)) or an acute injection of furosemide (50 mg/kg ip) were not markedly altered in nNOS-/- mice. Responses to furosemide were also maintained in eNOS-/- mice, but the administration of N(omega)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) markedly attenuated the PRC response to furosemide in these mice. In the isolated kidney preparation, bumetanide caused similar relative increases in renin secretion in kidneys of wild-type, nNOS-/-, and eNOS-/- mice. Bumetanide only marginally increased renin secretion in L-NAME-treated kidneys, but the bumetanide effect was normalized by S-nitroso-N-acetyl-penicillamine. Basal PRC was significantly reduced in male nNOS-/- mice compared with nNOS+/+ (189 +/- 28 vs. 355 +/- 57 ng ANG I.ml(-1).h(-1); P = 0.017). There was no significant difference in PRC between eNOS+/+ and eNOS-/- mice. Basal renin secretion rates in perfused kidneys isolated from nNOS-/- or eNOS-/- mice were markedly reduced compared with wild-type controls. Our data suggest that NO generated by macula densa nNOS does not play a specific mediator role in macula densa-dependent renin secretion. However, NO independent of its exact source permits the macula densa pathway of renin secretion to function normally.