Urinary kallikrein in normal renin essential hypertension.

The relationship between urinary kallikrein, urinary aldosterone, and plasma renin activity (PRA) was studied in hypertensive patients and normal subjects. Kallikrein was measured by a radiochemical esterolytic assay. Nine white males with normal renin, mild essential hypertension (25 +/- 5 [SD] yr; blood pressure [BP] 143 +/- 7 / 95 +/- 5 mm Hg) and six white normal males (23 +/- 3 yr; BP 115 +/- 15 / 70 +/- 6 mm Hg) were placed on a one-week diet consisting of 400 mEq Na+, 80 mEq K+ diet and a one week diet of a 10 mEq Na+, 80 mEq K+ diet. During salt restriction, PRA, urinary aldosterone, and urinary kallikrein progressively rose. (Urinary kallikrein on day 7: normals 18.3 +/- 13.7 esterase units [EU] per 24 hr; hypertensives 22.7 +/- 12.5 EU/24 hrs). There were no significant differences between the normals and hypertensives in PRA, aldosterone, or kallikrein excretion. After sodium balance was achieved, during salt loading, the PRA, aldosterone and kallikrein values were similar in both normals and hypertensives. (Urinary kallikrein on day 7: normals 5.0 +/- 5.2; hypertensives 7.9 +/- 4.4 EU/24 hrs.) Abnormalities in urinary kallikrein in hypertensives were not found when young white males with normal renin essential hypertension were compared to age-matched white male normal subjects. PRA appears related to urinary kallikrein excretion in this type of patient.