Intradermal administration of atrial natriuretic peptide has no effect on sweating and cutaneous vasodilator responses in young male adults

The protease corin regulates electrolyte homeostasis in eccrine sweat glands

Sweating is a basic skin function in body temperature control. In sweat glands, salt excretion and reabsorption are regulated to avoid electrolyte imbalance. To date, the mechanism underlying such regulation is not fully understood. Corin is a transmembrane protease that activates atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP), a cardiac hormone essential for normal blood volume and pressure. Here, we report an unexpected role of corin in sweat glands to promote sweat and salt excretion in regulating electrolyte homeostasis. In human and mouse eccrine sweat glands, corin and ANP are expressed in the luminal epithelial cells. In corin-deficient mice on normal- and high-salt diets, sweat and salt excretion is reduced. This phenotype is associated with enhanced epithelial sodium channel (ENaC) activity that mediates Na+ and water reabsorption. Treatment of amiloride, an ENaC inhibitor, normalizes sweat and salt excretion in corin-deficient mice. Moreover, treatment of aldosterone decreases sweat and salt excretion in wild-type (WT), but not corin-deficient, mice. These results reveal an important regulatory function of corin in eccrine sweat glands to promote sweat and salt excretion.

Intradermal Administration of Atrial Natriuretic Peptide Attenuates Cutaneous Vasodilation but Not Sweating in Young Men during Exercise in the Heat

INTRODUCTION

Prolonged exercise in the heat stimulates plasma release of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) in association with dehydration-induced reductions in blood volume. Elevated plasma ANP levels under these conditions may indirectly attenuate cutaneous blood flow and sweating responses due to the effects of this hormone on central blood volume and plasma osmolality and the resulting stimulation of nonthermal reflexes. However, it remains unclear whether cutaneous blood flow and sweating are directly modulated by ANP at the level of the cutaneous end organs (cutaneous microvessels and eccrine sweat glands) during prolonged exercise in the heat.

OBJECTIVE

Therefore, we evaluated the effects of local ANP administration on forearm cutaneous vascular conductance (CVC) and local sweat rate (LSR) during rest and exercise in the heat.

METHODS

In 9 habitually active young men (26 ± 6 years) CVC and LSR were evaluated at 3 intradermal microdialysis sites continuously perfused with lactated Ringer solution (control) or ANP (0.1 or 1.0 μM). Participants rested in a non-heat-stress condition (25°C) for approximately 60 min followed by 70 min in the heat (35°C). They then performed 50 min of moderate-intensity cycling (approx. 55% VO2 peak), with a 30-min recovery. Thereafter, 50 mM sodium nitroprusside was administered at all sites to elicit maximum CVC, which was subsequently used to normalize all values (CVC%max).

RESULTS

No effects of ANP on CVC%max were observed in the non-heat-stress resting condition compared to the untreated control site (both p > 0.05). Conversely during rest in the heat there was an 11% (5-17%) reduction in CVC%max at the 1.0 μM ANP site relative to the untreated control site (p < 0.05). At the end of exercise CVC%max was attenuated by 12% (1-23%) at the 0.1 μM ANP site and by 21% (7-35%) at the 1.0 μM ANP site relative to the untreated control site (all p < 0.05). Conversely, neither concentration of ANP influenced sweating at any time point (all p > 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Intradermal ANP administration directly attenuated cutaneous blood flow, but not sweating, in habitually active young men during rest and exercise in the heat.

Physiology of sweat gland function: The roles of sweating and sweat composition in human health

The purpose of this comprehensive review is to: 1) review the physiology of sweat gland function and mechanisms determining the amount and composition of sweat excreted onto the skin surface; 2) provide an overview of the well-established thermoregulatory functions and adaptive responses of the sweat gland; and 3) discuss the state of evidence for potential non-thermoregulatory roles of sweat in the maintenance and/or perturbation of human health. The role of sweating to eliminate waste products and toxicants seems to be minor compared with other avenues of excretion via the kidneys and gastrointestinal tract; as eccrine glands do not adapt to increase excretion rates either via concentrating sweat or increasing overall sweating rate. Studies suggesting a larger role of sweat glands in clearing waste products or toxicants from the body may be an artifact of methodological issues rather than evidence for selective transport. Furthermore, unlike the renal system, it seems that sweat glands do not conserve water loss or concentrate sweat fluid through vasopressin-mediated water reabsorption. Individuals with high NaCl concentrations in sweat (e.g. cystic fibrosis) have an increased risk of NaCl imbalances during prolonged periods of heavy sweating; however, sweat-induced deficiencies appear to be of minimal risk for trace minerals and vitamins. Additional research is needed to elucidate the potential role of eccrine sweating in skin hydration and microbial defense. Finally, the utility of sweat composition as a biomarker for human physiology is currently limited; as more research is needed to determine potential relations between sweat and blood solute concentrations.

The effect of exogenous activation of protease-activated receptor 2 on cutaneous vasodilatation and sweating in young males during rest and exercise in the heat

Protease-activated receptor 2 (PAR2) exists in the endothelial cells of skin vessels and eccrine sweat glands. We evaluated the hypothesis that exogeneous activation of PAR2 augments cutaneous vasodilatation and sweating during rest and exercise in the heat. In 10 young males (23 ± 5 y), cutaneous vascular conductance (CVC) and sweat rate were measured at four forearm skin sites treated with either 1) lactated Ringer (Control), 2) 0.05 mM, 3) 0.5 mM, or 4) 5 mM SLIGKV-NH2 (PAR2 agonist). Participants initially rested in a semi-recumbent posture under a normothermic ambient condition (25°C) for ~60 min. Thereafter, ambient temperature was increased to 35°C while the participants rested for an additional 60 min. Participants then performed a 50-min bout of cycling (~55% of their pre-determined peak oxygen uptake) followed by a 30-min recovery period. Administration of 5 mM SLIGKV-NH2 increased cutaneous vascular conductance relative to the Control site during normothermic resting (P ≤ 0.05). However, we showed that relative to the Control site, no effect on CVC was observed for any administered dose of SLIGKV-NH2 (0.05-5 mM) during rest (33-39%max CVC), end-exercise (68-70%max CVC), and postexercise recovery (49-53%max CVC) in the heat (all P > 0.05). There were no differences in sweat rate between the Control and all SLIGKV-NH2-treated sites throughout the protocol (0.21-0.23, 1.20-1.27, and 0.32-0.33 mg∙min-1∙cm-2 for rest, end-exercise, and postexercise in the heat, respectively, all P > 0.05). We show that while exogeneous PAR2 activation induces cutaneous vasodilatation during normothermic rest, it does not influence the cutaneous blood flow and sweating responses during rest, exercise or recovery in the heat.