Changes of angiotensin II and cAMP in plasma, brain tissue, adrenal gland and cardiovascular tissue during the acute and chronic stress were studied in rats. The acute stress group was subjected to compulsive cold water swimming for 20 min, while the chronic stress group was exposed to an ambient temperature of 4-8 degrees C for 5 days. The results indicated that plasma angiotensin II levels were significantly increased in both stress groups, reaching up to 900% and 134% of the control in the acute and chronic groups, respectively. Angiotensin II contents in the anterior hypothalamus, medulla oblongata, myocardium, vasculature and adrenals were also elevated in both groups. With the exception of the adrenals, the contents of tissue angiotensin II in the chronic stress animals were significantly higher than those of the acute stress animals. In contrast, cAMP levels in plasma and tissue (hypothalamus and adrenals) and corticosterone levels in plasma in the acute stress group were all higher than those in the chronic stress animals, although the levels of the latter group were also increased compared with the control group. These results suggest that circulating and tissue angiotensin II may play an important role in the acute and chronic stress responses and that angiotensin II should be classified as a stress hormone.