Role of thromboxane receptors in the dipsogenic response to central angiotensin II

Central angiotensin II (ANG II) regulates thirst. Because thromboxane A₂-prostaglandin H₂ (TP) receptors are expressed in the brain and mediate some of the effects of ANG II in the vasculature, we investigated the hypothesis that TP receptors mediate the drinking response to intracerebroventricular (icv) injections of ANG II. Pretreatment with the specific TP-receptor antagonist ifetroban (Ifet) decreased water intake with 50 ng/kg icv ANG II (ANG II + Veh, 7.2 ± 0.7 ml vs. ANG II + Ifet, 2.8 ± 0.8 ml; n = 5 rats; P < 0.001) but had no effect on water intake induced by hypertonic saline (NaCl + Veh, 8.4 ± 1.1 ml vs. NaCl + Ifet, 8.9 ± 1.8 ml; n = 5 rats; P = not significant). Administration of 0.6 μg/kg icv of the TP-receptor agonist U-46,619 did not induce drinking when given alone but did increase the dipsogenic response to a near-threshold dose of 15 ng/kg icv ANG II (ANG II + Veh, 1.1 ± 0.7 vs. ANG II + U-46,619, 4.5 ± 0.9 ml; n = 5 rats; P < 0.01). We conclude that central TP receptors contribute to the dipsogenic response to ANG II.