BACKGROUND: Malignant hypertension is a life-threatening condition, and its pathophysiology is still poorly understood. The present study was designed to evaluate the role of interaction of the renin-angiotensin system with 20-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (20-HETE), a product of cytochrome P450 (CYP)-dependent ω-hydroxylase pathway, in the pathophysiology of angiotensin II (ANG II)-dependent malignant hypertension in Cyp1a1-Ren-2 transgenic rats. METHODS: Malignant hypertension was induced by 12 days׳ dietary administration of 0.3 % indole-3-carbinol (I3C), a natural xenobiotic that activates a mouse renin gene. We hypothesized that chronic administration of fenofibrate, 190mg/kg body weight, a lipid-lowering drug, should increase renal production of 20-HETE, a tubular transport inhibitor; an expected increase in sodium excretion would oppose the development of ANG II-dependent malignant hypertension. Blood pressure was monitored by radiotelemetry, and at the end of the experiment rats were prepared for renal functional studies to evaluate in vivo the pressure-natriuresis relationship in response to stepwise reductions in renal arterial pressure (RAP). RESULTS: In I3C-induced rats, the treatment with fenofibrate significantly attenuated hypertension and improved the slope of the pressure-natriuresis relationship. Although fenofibrate treatment increased kidney gene and protein expression of CYP4A1, a major isoform responsible for 20-HETE formation, it did not increase renal 20-HETE concentration. On the contrary, fenofibrate treatment significantly suppressed renin gene expression, plasma renin activity and plasma and kidney ANG II levels. CONCLUSIONS: Fenofibrate treatment significantly attenuated the course of malignant hypertension in I3C-induced CYP1a1-Ren-2 transgenic rats, and the mechanism responsible for antihypertensive action was fenofibrate-induced suppression of renin-angiotensin system activity.

Center for Experimental Medicine Institute for Clinical and Experimental Medicine Prague Czech Republic

Department of Pathophysiology 2nd Faculty of Medicine Charles University Prague Czech Republic

Department of Renal and Body Fluid Physiology Mossakowski Medical Research Centre Polish Academy of Sciences Warsaw Poland

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