Absence of renin suppression by deoxycorticosterone acetate in rats.

GOODWIN, FRANK J., ABBIE I. KNOWLTON, AND JOHN H. LARAGH. Absence of renin suppression by deoxycorticosterone acetate in rats. Am. J. Physiol. 216(6) : 1476-1480. 1969.-The influence of deoxycorticosterone acetate (DCA) on renin release was studied in rats. DCA-treated and normal control groups of animals were maintained on either sodium-free or sodiumrich diets for 6 weeks. In the normal rat, sodium deprivation induced a significant increase in peripheral plasma renin activity. Concurrent administration of DCA did not influence this response. A high-sodium diet alone failed to suppress peripheral plasma renin activity: in this respect the rat appears to differ strikingly from man. The combination of this diet and DCA reduced plasma renin activity to almost undetectable levels: this suppression appeared to be caused not as a result of increased levels of the hormone per se, but rather as an indirect consequence of mineralocorticoid-induced changes in sodium metabolism. It is concluded that in the absence of available dietary sodium, DCA exerts no influence upon renin release from the juxtaglomerular apparatus.