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Circulating endothlein (ET) levels are elevated in heart failure and positively correlated with severity of heart failure. Recent studies demonstrated arginine vasopressin (AVP) V 2 mRNA expression was upregulated in the inner medullary collecting duct (IMCD) of cardiomyopathic hamsters (CM). The goal of the present studies was to determine if ET-1 is involved in upregulating the expression of AVP V 2 mRNA in the IMCD of CM by using a mixed ETA/ETB receptor antagonist bosentan. Our results showed plasma ET-1 levels increased in CM hamsters and related with the severity of heart failure. The competitive reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) method was used to quantify the expression of AVP V 2 and aquaporin 2 (AQP2) mRNA in the IMCD. AVP V 2 mRNA expression was elevated in placebo-treated CM hamsters and decreased significantly with 14 days of bosentan treatment. Similar results were seen with AQP2 mRNA. The effect of bosentan in normalizing the expression of AVP V 2 and AQP2 mRNA in the IMCD of CM was confirmed by in situ hybridization studies. Bosentan treatments reduced the intensitites of the signals in the IMCD of CM hamsters to that seen in normal hamsters. This study demonstrated that AVP V 2 and AQP2 mRNA are upregulated in CM hamsters and these upregulations are attenuated by bosentan treatment, suggesting that ET-1 plays a role in upregulating the expression of AVP V 2 mRNA in CM hamsters.

Previous studies showed that aquaporin 2 (AQP2) is elevated in the kidney of the heart failure rat suggesting that an increased amount of AQP2 contributes to water retention in heart failure. We performed the present study to determine whether angiotensin II play a role in causing an increase in the expression of arginine vasopressin (AVP) V 2 and AQP2 mRNA in the kidney of the cardiomyopathic hamster. The expression of AVP V 2 and AQP2 mRNA in the inner medullary collecting duct (IMCD) was measured by competitive reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) before and after treatment with an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor, enalapril. Our results showed that the expression of AVP V 2 (0.53 [plusmn] 0.05 v 1.03 [plusmn] 0.15 amol/[mu ]g of total RNA, P [lt ] .01) and AQP2 mRNA (0.027 [plusmn] 0.002 v 0.036 [plusmn] 0.002 amol/[mu ]g of total RNA, P [lt ] .05) in the IMCD of the cardiomyopathic hamster is upregulated. Treating the cardiomyopathic hamster with enalapril for 7 days negated the changes. In situ hybridization experiments confirmed the intensity of the signals for both AVP V 2 and AQP2 mRNA was more intense in the IMCD of the cardiomyopathic hamster. Enalapril treatment reduced the signal intensity to a level comparable to the normal hamster. These results suggested that the increases in the expression of AVP V 2 and AQP2 mRNA are mediated by angiotensin II.

Striatal glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) mRNA levels in both young (2-month old) and old (11-month old) C57BL/6J mice were quantified at 3, 7 and 21 days following 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) treatment. MPTP did not alter the expression of GDNF mRNA in these animals. Immunoreactive staining of GDNF in the substantia nigra and the striatum was also unchanged. In conclusion, MPTP-induced dopaminergic neurotoxicity does not elicit any changes in the expression of endogenous GDNF or its mRNA in the adult mouse brain.