Essential hypertension develops from the interaction of genetic and environmental factors. In the Milan hypertensive strain (MHS) rat before the development of hypertension, there is a genetically inherited increase of tubular reabsorption which is the cause of the following increase of blood pressure. Also in young normotensive humans, predisposed to develop essential hypertension later in life, there is an abnormal pattern of renal function that may be explained by increase of tubular reabsorption. The studies of the erythrocyte membrane transport support these data and suggest that at least a subset of essential hypertensive humans may develop a form of hypertension that has pathogenetic mechanisms similar to the ones of MHS rats.

Animals↗

PubMed1988

Role of cellular sodium and calcium metabolism in the pathogenesis of essential hypertension.

The differences observed among rat strains in both basal [Na+]i and the several cation transport systems seem to be due to the different genetic background as clearly shown in F2 populations or after bone marrow transplantation in MHS. The same may be true for humans. In spite of all the caution taken in interpreting the data, because of the great possibility of methodological errors, it is likely that the differences observed in many laboratories are due to uneven genetic or ethnic composition of the samples studied, as shown by Dagher and Canessa. One intriguing observation is that most reports of "low Na-K cotransport" values in hypertensive patients are from Mediterranean countries (Italy, France, and Spain), whereas most reports of "high," or "not low Na-K cotransport," or very high values of countertransport came from populations originating from North Europe (Denmark, USA, South African whites). We are not aware of any study on erythrocyte Na-K cotransport performed in Great Britain (the greatest source of American immigrants). Indeed the difference in cotransport values between North and South European hypertensives might be due to different environmental factors, but if this is so, the difference does not depend on the salt consumption or plasma lipids that are similar in our high and low Na-K cotransport hypertensives (Cusi D et al, submitted). The picture seems relatively less confusing for calcium. The most consistent alterations in different models of hypertension is a decreased Ca-pump in SHR, MHS, and DOCA rats, reduced calcium binding in SHR and MHS, and reduced microsomal ATP dependent calcium uptake in SHR and DOCA rats. [Ca++]i, which is increased in established hypertension in man and rats, is normal in young prehypertensive rats and humans, and returns to normal values after pharmacological treatment of hypertension. This pattern of changes suggests that genetic control of these transport systems is weaker, and probably much influenced by different environmental conditions. However, because of the pivotal role of calcium in vascular smooth muscle cell concentration, its intracellular increase may be the common pathway of the different forms of hypertension. What remains unclear is the relation, if any, between calcium and sodium. Blaustein tried to find a link between them, but his hypotheses have yet to be confirmed.

Animals↗

PubMed1988

Nasal meningioma. Report of a case.

A case of intranasal meningioma is reported. The possible etiopathogenic hypothesis is discussed giving advice on excluding a possible intracranial primary neoplasia. Therapy is also briefly discussed.

Female↗

PubMed1987

Decreased level of calpain inhibitor activity in kidney from Milan hypertensive rats.

Rat kidney contains two different calpain isozymes distinguishable on the basis of their Ca2+ requirement and of their activation mechanisms. The two calpain isozymes are present in comparable amounts in kidney of normotensive and hypertensive rats of the Milan strain. Conversely, the level of the natural inhibitor of calpain is significantly decreased in kidney of hypertensive rats as compared to control normotensive rats. This deficiency is more pronounced in the cortical region than in other kidney fractions. These results taken together with previous observations indicating the existence of an identical defect in red cells from the same hypertensive rat strain, (Pontremoli, S., Melloni, E., Salamino, F., Sparatore, B., Viotti, P., Michetti, M., Duzzi, L., and Bianchi, G. (1986) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 138, 1370-1375) emphasize the possible role of an unbalanced intracellular proteolytic system in the development of genetically determined hypertension.

Animals↗

PubMed1987

Cerebrospinal fluid and peripheral blood T-lymphocyte subsets in multiple sclerosis: monoclonal antibody analysis and correlations with clinical activity.

Enumeration of cerebrospinal fluid and peripheral blood T-lymphocyte subsets (T-total, T-helper and T-suppressor) was performed by monoclonal antibody technique in 18 patients with Multiple Sclerosis and in 4 patients with non-inflammatory neurological diseases. While no differences were observed in peripheral blood subsets among the various phases of the disease, a marked rise in cerebrospinal fluid helper-suppressor ratio was seen in acute relapses. The results give further support to the concept of a strict compartimentalization in immune response abnormalities in Multiple Sclerosis patients.

Cerebrospinal Fluid↗

PubMed1987

The vesicosigmoidal fistula: diagnosis and surgical treatment.

The authors report their experience in the diagnosis and treatment of 10 cases of vesicosigmoidal fistula. In accordance with the literature the most frequent presenting symptoms were of urinary origin. For the diagnosis urography was helpful, cystography and cystoscopy allowed the observation of a fistulous orifice, while barium enema confirmed, or removed probable doubts about the nature of the intestinal pathology. Surgical treatment varied from one-stage to multi-stage procedures.

Aged↗

PubMed1987

Insulin resistance in aged man: relationship between impaired glucose tolerance and decreased insulin activity on branched-chain amino acids.

The effects of glucose-induced hyperinsulinemia on plasma amino acid levels were measured in 50 subjects divided into five age groups. Following an oral glucose load the plasma levels of most amino acids decreased, the decline being more pronounced for the three branched-chain amino acids (valine, isoleucine, and leucine). A progressive insulin resistance was proved on the basis of an age-related impaired glucose tolerance and a normal or increased insulin response. The plasma disappearance of branched-chain amino acids significantly correlated with age (r = -.514). The effects of the prevailing plasma insulin on branched-chain amino acids, measured by the ratio of amino acid changes per total insulin response, progressively declined in older subjects (P = .0005), and strictly correlated with age (r = .652). Insulin resistance in the elderly similarly affects glucose and branched-chain amino acid metabolism, with possible relevant effects on whole-body protein turnover.

Aged↗

PubMed1987

Gallium-67 imaging of undifferentiated nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

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Adult↗

PubMed1987

Renal function of isolated perfused kidneys from hypertensive (MHS) and normotensive (MNS) rats of the Milan strain: role of calcium.

Abnormal sodium (Na+) and water handling by the kidney may be the cause of hypertension in rats of the Milan hypertensive strain (MHS). In addition, the plasma cell membrane Ca-ATPase at Vmax is lower in MHS than in normotensive controls (MNS). The isolated kidney preparation was used to explore the role of extracellular free calcium (Ca2+) concentrations (1.25, 1.00 and 0.75 mmol/l) in tubular Na+ transport of pre-hypertensive MHS rats. At the Ca2+ concentration of 1.0 mmol/l, the following parameters were significantly higher (P less than 0.01) in MHS: glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and urinary volume (UV), +104.8 and +147.2%, respectively; urinary Na+ excretion (UNa+), +318.0%; tubular Na+ reabsorption (TNa+), +91.0% and oxygen consumption Q O2, +42.9%. Raising the Ca2+ concentration to 1.25 mmol/l increased UV (+167.0%) and UNa+ (+231.0%) in MHS without substantially affecting MNS. The difference between the two strains was therefore considerably larger for these parameters, but disappeared for TNa+ and Q O2. The overall kidney function of MHS was poor as compared wit renal function at Ca2+ 1.0 mmol/l. The differences between the two strains virtually disappeared at the lowest Ca2+ concentration (0.75 mmol/l); only GFR and TNa+ remained slightly greater in MHS mainly because of the poor viability of MNS kidneys in this experimental condition. It thus appears that the lower activity of Ca2+-ATPase of MHS compared with MNS plasma cell membranes influences the differences in Na+ and water handling in the two strains.

Animals↗

PubMed1987

Relationship between erythrocyte volume and sodium transport in the Milan hypertensive rat and age-dependent changes.

The relationship between differences in red blood cell (RBC) volume and ion transport across the erythrocyte cell membrane were investigated in the Milan Hypertensive (MHS) and Milan Normotensive (MNS) rat strains, under different experimental conditions and during ageing. The results obtained indicate that: the difference in Na+/K+ cotransport between MHS and MNS disappear when the RBC volume of the two strains becomes equal under hypotonic swelling; MHS RBCs are osmotically more fragile than those of MNS, probably because of a different membrane structure rather than a different amount of membrane surface, and the smaller volume and the lower Na+ content of MHS RBCs are maintained throughout the life span, while Na+/K+ pump activity and Na+/K+ cotransport undergo age-dependent changes, related to the development of hypertension. All these findings suggest that a primary abnormality of the cell membrane structure of MHS, probably located in the cytoskeleton, is responsible for the cell functional alterations that we previously demonstrated to be genetically associated with MHS hypertension.

Animals↗

PubMed1987

A primary kidney abnormality in essential hypertension.

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Animals↗

PubMed1987

Selective modification of renal alpha 2-adrenergic receptors in Milan hypertensive rat strain.

Cerebral and renal alpha-adrenergic receptors play an important role in the control of blood pressure. We studied alpha-adrenergic receptors in the cerebral and renal cortex of Milan hypertensive strain (MHS) and normotensive strain (MNS) rats, a genetic model of spontaneous hypertension linked to a kidney abnormality. Binding of the selective alpha 1-adrenergic antagonist [3H]prazosin and the alpha 2-adrenergic antagonist [3H]rauwolscine was used for receptor studies in tissues of prehypertensive (24-day-old) and hypertensive (60-day-old) rats. In the cerebral cortex, no between-strain differences in alpha 1-adrenergic and alpha 2-adrenergic receptor density and affinity were observed in prehypertensive and hypertensive periods. The density of these receptors increased similarly with age in MHS and MNS rats. In the renal cortex, the differences between MHS and MNS rats concerned alpha 2-adrenergic receptors only. Compared with their age-matched normotensive controls, MHS rats showed 1) a lower affinity for the antagonist (p less than 0.05) in the prehypertensive period, 2) absence of the normal age-related increase in receptor density, and 3) a lower density of [3H]rauwolscine binding sites (p less than 0.001) in the hypertensive period. In this period, studies of competitive inhibition of [3H]rauwolscine binding showed that l-epinephrine bound to one class of sites in MHS rats (pseudo-Hill plot, 0.90) and to two classes in MNS rats (pseudo-Hill plot, 0.68). In addition, the lack of any guanylylimidodiphosphate effect on the l-epinephrine competition curve observed in MHS rats suggests the uncoupling of these receptors from the guanosine 5'-triphosphate binding protein.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Age Factors↗

PubMed1987

The Milan hypertensive rat as a model for studying cation transport abnormality in genetic hypertension.

Environmental factors, genetic polymorphisms, and different experimental designs have been the main impediments to evaluating a genetic association between cell membrane cation transport abnormalities and human essential or genetic hypertension. We review the results obtained in the Milan hypertensive strain of rats (MHS) and in its appropriate control normotensive strain (MNS) to illustrate our approach to defining the role of cation transport abnormality in a type of genetic hypertension. Before the development of a difference in blood pressure between the two strains, the comparison of kidney and erythrocyte functions showed that MHS had an increased glomerular filtration rate and urinary output, and lower plasma renin and urine osmolality. Kidney cross-transplantation between the strains showed that hypertension is transplanted with the kidney. Proximal tubular cell volume and sodium content were lower in MHS while sodium transport across the brush border membrane vesicles of MHS was faster. Erythrocytes in MHS were smaller and had lower sodium concentration, and Na+-K+ cotransport and passive permeability were faster. The differences in volume, sodium content, and Na+-K+ cotransport between erythrocytes of the two strains persisted after transplantation of bone marrow to irradiated F1 (MHS X MNS) hybrids. Moreover, in normal segregating F2 hybrid populations there was a positive correlation between blood pressure and Na+-K+ cotransport. These results suggest a genetic and functional link in MHS between cell membrane cation transport abnormalities and hypertension. Thus erythrocyte cell membrane may be used for approaching the problem of defining the genetically determined molecular mechanism underlying the development of a type of essential hypertension.

Animals↗

PubMed1987

Cytochemically assayable Na+,K+-ATPase inhibition by Milan hypertensive rat plasma.

The ability of plasma from 3- and 9-week-old Milan hypertensive rats and their normotensive controls to inhibit Na+,K+-adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) was studied using cytochemical bioassay techniques in fresh tissue. With a validated cytochemical bioassay that measures the capacity of biological samples to stimulate glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity in guinea pig proximal tubules as an indication of their capacity to inhibit Na+,K+-ATPase, the mean glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase-stimulating ability of the plasma of the 9-week-old Milan hypertensive rats and their normotensive controls was 586.0 +/- 88 and 23.4 +/- 8.3 U/ml (n = 7; p less than 0.001), while that of the 3-week-old Milan hypertensive rats (before the main rise in arterial pressure) and their normotensive controls was 99.9 +/- 27.4 and 7.8 +/- 1.8 U/ml (n = 7; p less than 0.001). With the use of a semiquantitative cytochemical assay that measures Na+,K+-ATPase activity directly, plasma from the adult hypertensive rats had a much greater capacity to inhibit Na+,K+-ATPase than the plasma of the control rats. The significantly raised levels found in the young hypertensive rats before the main rise in arterial pressure are consistent with the hypothesis that the rise in the ability of plasma to inhibit Na+,K+-ATPase is due to an inherited renal difficulty in excreting sodium.

Animals↗