Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, Vol 75, 988-992, Copyright © 1992 by Endocrine Society

ARTICLES

Interrelationships between the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone and calcium homeostatic systems

FD Grant, SJ Mandel, EM Brown, GH Williams and EW Seely
Endocrine-Hypertension Division, Brigham & Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02115.

Blood pressure is affected by both sodium and calcium intake. To determine if there is an interaction between the regulatory mechanisms for these two cations, eight normal male volunteers received the following 1-h infusions on three different days: 1) angiotensin II (AII), 2) the synthetic 1-34 amino terminal fragment of human PTH [hPTH(1-34)], and 3) AII and hPTH(1-34) together. Blood samples were obtained at t = 0 and every 20 min during each infusion and urine was collected for 3 h both before and after the start of each infusion. Infusion of AII produced an increase in intact PTH from 18 +/- 2 to 31 +/- 4 ng/L (P < 0.05), most likely in response to a small decrease in serum ionized calcium (1.25 +/- 0.01 to 1.23 +/- 0.01 mmol/L, P < 0.05). Urinary excretion of calcium was unchanged. Infusion of hPTH(1- 34) at 200 U/h increased N-terminal PTH levels (18 +/- 3 to 268 +/- 42 ng/L, P < 0.05), decreased tubular reabsorption of phosphate (0.92 +/- 0.03 to 0.82 +/- 0.11, P < 0.05), and increased urinary cAMP (0.18 +/- 0.02 to 0.53 +/- 0.05 nmol/L of glomerular filtrate, P = 0.0001). hPTH(1-34) infusion suppressed endogenous intact PTH (18 +/- 3 to 14 +/- 2 ng/L, P < 0.005) and increased PRA from 0.14 +/- 0.02 to 0.32 +/- 0.05 ng/(L.s) (P < 0.05) without a change in serum ionized calcium which suggests direct effects of hPTH(1-34) on the parathyroid glands and the juxtaglomerular apparatus. The effects of AII and hPTH(1-34) were antagonistic with little change in serum ionized calcium, intact PTH, or PRA when both were infused together. These interrelationships between the major hormonal systems controlling sodium and calcium homeostasis suggest a mechanism underlying the close association of calcium and sodium in the regulation of blood pressure.