Sex differences in renin response and changes of capillary diameters after renal ischemia/reperfusion injury

Abstract

Activation of the RAS has a crucial role in the progression of ischemia/reperfusion-associated CAD. The regulation of RAS differs in the two genders. However, the extent of gender differences and locations of renin production have not been revealed yet. We investigated in vivo the local renin production in the two genders during ischemia/reperfusion injury. In male and female Wistar rats, renal ischemia was induced followed by a reperfusion period of two, eight, 16, 24, or 48 h. We applied flow cytometry to measure renin content and multiphoton imaging to visualize renin granules and changes of peritubular diameters in vivo during ischemia/reperfusion. Renin content decreased in CD in the first eight h of reperfusion; however, after 16 h, its amount increased. In males, the production of renin was more pronounced, and the duration of vasoconstriction was longer with a subsequent phase of vessel hyperdilation compared to females. Renal ischemia/reperfusion injury induces renin response not only in the JGA, but also in the CD segment. Renin production is more explicit in males than in females which, via increased angiotensin II production, might explain the different dynamism of renal vessel regulation between the two genders.