Autoradiographic identification of brain angiotensin IV binding sites and differential c-Fos expression following intracerebroventricular injection of angiotensin II and IV in rats

A unique angiotensin binding site specific for the hexapeptide, angiotensin II(3–8) (AngIV), has been previously reported by our laboratory in the guinea pig brain and is presently described in the rat brain. This angiotensin receptor subtype has been termed AT 4 and is prominently distributed in cerebral cortex, piriform cortex, hippocampus, habenulae, colliculi, septum, periaqueductal gray, several thalamic nuclei, the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus and cerebellum. In the second part of the present investigation, separate groups of rats received i.c.v. injections of angiotensin II (AngII), AngIV or artificial cerebrospinal fluid (aCSF) and were euthanized 2 h later for the purpose of evaluating for brain c-Fos expression. After i.c.v.-injected AngIV, Fos-like immunoreactivity was present in the hippocampus and piriform cortex. This immunoreactivity was unaffected by i.c.v. pretreatment with the AT 1 angiotensin receptor antagonist DuP 753 (losartan) or the AT 2 receptor ligand PD123177 but was blocked by the AT 4 angiotensin receptor antagonist, divalanal-AngIV. I.c.v. injection of AngII resulted in Fos-like immunoreactivity in the dorsal third and lateral ventricles, subfornical organ, lateral hypothalamus and amygdala. Pretreatment with losartan or PD123177 significantly interfered with this AngII-induced immunoreactivity while divalanal-AngIV did not. These results indicate that in both guinea pig and rat brains the AT 4 receptor has a distribution different than that previously reported for AT 1 and AT 2 receptor subtypes. The c-Fos expression results suggest that different brain neuronal pathways are activated by i.c.v. injection of AngII and AngIV.