Hepatic and extrahepatic angiotensinogen gene expression in rats with acute nephrotic syndrome.

Plasma concentration and urine excretion of the renin-angiotensin system proteins are altered in rats with nephrotic syndrome (NS). In this work the messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) levels of angiotensinogen (Ao) were analyzed with the slot-blot hybridization technique in liver and other extrahepatic tissues: kidney, heart, brain, and adrenal gland from control, nephrotic, and pair-fed (PF) rats. NS was induced by a single injection of puromycin amino-nucleoside (PAN). Although a great urinary excretion and half-normal plasma levels of Ao were observed on day 6 after PAN injection, when NS was clearly established, hepatic Ao mRNA levels did not change. Furthermore, the Ao mRNA levels did not change in any of the extrahepatic tissues studied on day 6, nor did its hepatic levels at days 1, 3, 5, or 7 after PAN injection. These data suggest that the hepatic and extrahepatic Ao mRNA levels are unaltered during the development of the acute NS induced by PAN.