The adrenal glomerulosa cell and the renal vasculature respond to similar arterial angiotensin II (A II) levels. We have assessed the effect of decreased sodium intake on their responses to A II in man. Studies were performed in 42 normal subjects in balance on a daily intake of 100 meq potassium and either 200 or 10 meq sodium/day. Renal blood flow was measured with (133)Xe and arterial A II, renin and aldosterone concentrations by radioimmunoassay. A II was infused intravenously (1, 3, or 10 ng/kg/min) for 40-60 min; 14 subjects received graded doses. The A II level increased linearly with dose and plateaued within 3 min; blood pressure and renal vascular resistance showed a similar time-course. Aldosterone rose within 10 and plateaued within 20 min. Dose-response relationships were established between the rate of A II infusion and the adrenal, the renal vascular, and pressor responses. Sodium restriction reduced the pressor (P < 0.01) and the renal vascular response (P < 0.01), but potentiated the adrenal response to A II (P < 0.01). An excellent correlation was found between the plasma A II and aldosterone levels, but the slope of their regression relationship on a high (y = 0.13x + 6) and low salt intake (y = 0.32x + 14) differed significantly (P < 0.0005). Thus, sodium intake reciprocally influences vascular and adrenal responses to A II: salt restriction blunts the vascular response and potentiates the adrenal's, a physiologically important influence in view of aldosterone's role in sodium conservation.