Decreased angiotensin II binding affinity and binding capacity in the anterior pituitary gland of adult spontaneously hypertensive rats

Angiotensin II (ANG) binding sites were quantified in single pituitary glands from 4-week-old and 14-week-old male spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and age-matched male normotensive Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) control rats after incubation with 125I-[Sar1]-ANG, autoradiography with computerized densitometry, and comparison to 125I-standards. The maximum binding capacity (B/sub max/) decreased while the dissociation constant (K/sub d/) for ANG increased in 14-week-old SHR when compared to age-matched WKY control rats. Conversely, no difference between rat strains was found in 4-week-old animals. Our results suggest that pituitary ANG binding sites may play a role in the pathophysiology of established genetic hypertension