Studies of the factors modulating antidiuretic hormone excretion in man in response to the osmolar stimulus: effects of oestrogen and angiotensin II
Abstract. The aim of this study was to assess the influence of hormones known to regulate fluid and electrolyte balance on the release of antidiuretic hormone induced by raising serum osmolality. The stimulus provoked by the infusion of a 2.5% NaCl solution induces an increase of urinary [arginine-8]vasopressin from 1.12 to 2.64 ng/h in men and from 1.65 to 7.27 ng/h in women as has been previously reported. These results were compared to those obtained in males infused with angiotensin II (All) before and during a hypertonic sodium load and in males infused with hypertonic saline on the fourth day of administration of ethinyl-oestradiol. During the combined infusion of All and then hypertonic saline, the mean hourly urinary excretion of AVP increased from 2.8 to 5.67 ng/h. Within each group the increase of urinary AVP was highly significant. The rise of urinary AVP during All infusion was significantly different from the rise observed both in untreated males and untreated females, lying in between. The mean hourly excretion rate of AVP increased before and after hypertonic saline loading from 2.65 to 5.3 ng/h in males pre-treated with ethinyl-oestradiol. The significant difference observed between males and females is reduced when males treated with oestrogen were compared to female subjects. In each group plasma renin activity decreased to low values during the salt-loading test. During oestrogen treatment PRA and plasma renin substrate rose, while urinary aldosterone remained almost unchanged. We conclude that All stimulates the release of AVP in males and potentiates the response of AVP to the osmolar stimulus, and that oestrogen potentiates in man the release of AVP in response to the osmolar stimulus. This oestrogenic effect may account for the observed sex difference.