Vasoactive hormonal response to two levels of dietary protein intake was studied in seven healthy adult volunteers. The subjects were randomly placed on a 2-g.kg-1.day-1 (high) or 0.55-g.kg-1.day-1 (low) diet using a crossover design and were studied on the morning of the 5th day and again after 24 h of indomethacin treatment. Plasma renin activity (PRA), aldosterone, vasopressin, and urinary excretion of 6-ketoprostaglandin F1 alpha (PGF1 alpha) were significantly higher on the high-protein diet despite constancy of body weight, blood pressure, pulse, urinary sodium and potassium excretion, and plasma amino acid levels. After treatment with cyclooxygenase inhibitor indomethacin, 6-keto-PGF1 alpha excretion was equalized, but the elevated PRA and aldosterone levels persisted on the high-protein diet, suggesting that PRA and aldosterone elevations do not depend entirely on prostanoid release. We conclude that chronic augmentation of dietary protein intake is accompanied by alterations of vasoactive hormones, which persist for up to 10 h postprandially and are independent of elevated plasma amino acid levels. Such hormonal alterations may mediate some of the dietary protein-mediated changes in renal hemodynamics.