The turnover of norepinephrine in the heart during experimental hypertension in rats

Norepinephrine turnover in the heart and blood vessels of Goldblatt hypertensive rats

The norepinephrine (NE) content, the uptake of [3H]NE, the turnover time, the turnover and the synthesis rate of the neurotransmitter in the heart and blood vessels were studied in the chronic phase of two kidney and one kidney Goldblatt renovascular hypertension, in the rat. Intact and sham operated animals were used as controls. Fifty percent of the rats subjected to renal clipping developed hypertension. This fact allowed us to compare changes in clip operated hypertensive and normotensive animals. The weight of the hearts and blood vessels was significantly increased in clip operated rats. Changes were greater in hypertensive animals. NE concentration and total content in the heart and in the artery wall were significantly decreased in the clipped rats. [3H]NE uptake was significantly diminished in the heart of experimental animals; in the artery wall, uptake was much lower than in the heart but no differences were observed between clip operated and sham animals. The turnover of NE was not different among control and clip operated rats either in the heart or in the blood vessels. Synthesis rate was lower in hypertensive animals than in their respective controls, explaining the lower concentration of the amine in cardiovascular tissues. The present data do not suggest that an increased turnover of NE in the cardiovascular sympathetic nerve endings is involved in the maintenance of high blood pressure in both types of Goldblatt renovascular hypertension.

Sympathetic nervous system in high sodium one-kidney, figure-8 renal hypertension

The contribution of the sympathetic nervous system and vasopressin to the maintenance of arterial pressure was investigated in high sodium-fed rats 4 weeks after the induction of one-kidney, figure-8 renal wrap hypertension. Arterial pressure was significantly greater in renal-wrapped rats than in sham-operated animals. The contribution of the sympathetic nervous system was assessed functionally by measuring the arterial pressure response to ganglionic blockade and estimating the apparent rate of release of norepinephrine. The contribution of vasopressin was assessed by administration of the vascular antagonist d(CH2)5Tyr(Me)-AVP. Whole-animal vascular responsiveness and cardiac baroreceptor reflex sensitivity were determined by graded intravenous bolus injections of angiotensin II, vasopressin, and phenylephrine. Hypertensive rats demonstrated an exaggerated reduction in arterial pressure to autonomic blockade before and after blockade of vascular vasopressin receptors. There was a significant 27% increase in the apparent rate of release of norepinephrine into the plasma. Administration of d(CH2)5Tyr(Me)-AVP did not affect arterial pressure when given alone. However, after ganglionic blockade, inhibition of the vasopressin system elicited similar falls in blood pressure in both normotensive and hypertensive rats. Arterial pressure dose-response effects of phenylephrine, angiotensin II, and vasopressin were similar between renal-wrapped and sham-operated animals; however, cardiac baroreceptor reflex sensitivity was suppressed in the hypertensive rats. These studies indicate that the maintenance of arterial pressure in chronic, high sodium renal-wrap hypertension is associated with an augmented sympathetic nervous system function.

Effects of riboflavin analogues and diuretics on the spontaneously hypertensive rat heart

The chronic treatment of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) with 7,8-dimethyl-10-(3-chlorobenzyl) isoalloxazine [CBI], 7,8-diethyl-10-aminol isoalloxazine [DEAI], enduron (methyclothiazide) and amiloride were studied for their effects on blood pressure and cardiac contractile protein ATPase activities. After 35 weeks of treatment all the above antihypertensive agents showed a decrease in blood pressure in the SHR (p less than 0.01). Chronic treatment with CBI, DEAI, enduron, and amiloride significantly improved the myofibrillar ATPase activity at all pCa2+ concentrations (p less than 0.01). Furthermore, CBI, DEAI, enduron, and amiloride drug treatments enhanced actin-activated myosin ATPase activity (p less than 0.01). The Ca2(+)-activated myosin ATPase activity was significantly elevated after treating with CBI and DEAI (p less than 0.01). These results suggest that the antihypertensive agents used in this study helped in reducing the blood pressure with a subsequent increase in myocardial contractile protein ATPase activity.

Failure of salt loading to inhibit tissue norepinephrine turnover in prehypertensive Dahl salt-sensitive rats

To determine if alterations of electrolyte balance or sympathetic nervous system activity are present in Dahl salt-sensitive rats (DS) before the onset of hypertension, we compared electrolyte balances, extracellular fluid volume (inulin space), plasma volume (radiolabeled albumin), and norepinephrine turnover in peripheral tissues (heart and interscapular brown fat) in prehypertensive DS and Dahl salt-resistant rats (DR). Animals were maintained for 5 to 7 days on either a "normal" or high NaCl diet. Tissue norepinephrine turnover was evaluated by measuring the rate at which norepinephrine content decreased following tyrosine hydroxylase inhibition with alpha-methyl-p-tyrosine. Blood pressure was higher (p less than 0.05) in DS (135 +/- 2 [SE] mm Hg) than in DR (129 +/- 2 mm Hg) and was not affected by the diets. Extracellular fluid volume and net Na+ and Cl- balances did not differ between DS and DR. However, plasma volume was greater in DS than in DR (p less than 0.05). In both fat and heart, norepinephrine turnover was decreased by dietary NaCl loading in DR (p less than 0.01), but not in DS. Thus, the tendency of the DS to become hypertensive with high NaCl intake may be related to the combined effects of an increased plasma volume and the failure of high dietary NaCl to inhibit peripheral sympathetic nervous system activity.

Effects of arterial vasodilators on cardiac hypertrophy and sympathetic activity in rats

In spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR), the progression (or absence of regression) of cardiac hypertrophy despite adequate blood pressure (BP) control by arterial vasodilators has been attributed to increased cardiac sympathetic activity. We evaluated changes in indices of general and cardiac sympathetic tone in relation to changes in cardiac anatomy during treatment of normotensive rats and SHR with hydralazine, 120 mg/L, or minoxidil, 120 mg/L of drinking water. In SHR, both vasodilators reduced BP rapidly and consistently. Significant increases in heart rate and plasma norepinephrine were observed only in the initial 2 days of arterial vasodilator treatment. After 5 weeks of treatment, marked increases in left and right ventricular sympathetic activity (as assessed by norepinephrine turnover rates) were present, but no increase was seen in heart rate and plasma norepinephrine. Intravascular volume expansion was observed on Day 14 of minoxidil and Day 35 of hydralazine treatment. Prolonged treatment with minoxidil induced significant increases in left ventricular internal diameter, as well as in left and right ventricular weights, but not in the wall thickness of the left ventricle. Treatment with hydralazine did not affect left ventricular weight and caused a small increase in the weight of the right ventricle. In normotensive rats, both vasodilators initially decreased BP, but tolerance developed within 1 to 2 weeks of treatment. Plasma norepinephrine and heart rate showed increases only at Day 1 of either treatment, whereas cardiac sympathetic hyperactivity persisted at 2 and 5 weeks of treatment. Changes in cardiac anatomy were qualitatively similar to those observed in SHR. We conclude that, during treatment of normotensive rats and SHR with arterial vasodilators, cardiac sympathetic hyperactivity persists and may be involved in the cardiac effects of arterial vasodilators. However, other mechanisms, such as chronic cardiac volume overload, may also play an important role, particularly with minoxidil.

Preserved cardiac beta-adrenergic sensitivity in early renovascular hypertension

To determine the mechanism of blunted sympathetic reflex responses in early renovascular hypertension, we measured inotropic and chronotropic responses of the heart to beta-adrenergic stimulation in vivo and myocardial beta-adrenergic receptor number and adenylate cyclase activity in 10 dogs during an early stage of one-kidney renal hypertension. Mean aortic pressure was higher in the hypertensive dogs (152 +/- 4 mm Hg) than in eight sham-operated dogs (122 +/- 1 mm Hg; p less than 0.001), but heart rate, cardiac output, and left atrial pressure did not differ between the two groups. Blood pressure reduction with a direct-acting vasodilator, pinacidil, resulted in marked increases in heart rate (+97 +/- 12 beats/min) and rate of change of left ventricular pressure (dP/dt; +1447 +/- 367 mm Hg/sec) in normotensive dogs but only blunted heart rate (+54 +/- 12 beats/min) and minimal left ventricular dP/dt (+376 +/- 264 mm Hg/sec) responses in hypertensive dogs. In contrast, intravenously administered isoproterenol produced similar increases in heart rate and left ventricular dP/dt in the two groups. These two groups also did not differ in either left ventricular beta-adrenergic receptor number and affinity or basal, isoproterenol-stimulated, and fluoride-stimulated adenylate cyclase activity. Thus, despite blunted reflex responses to blood pressure reduction, hypertensive dogs showed neither reduction in chronotropic and inotropic responses to direct beta-adrenergic stimulation nor beta-adrenergic desensitization of the myocardium, as assessed by beta-adrenergic receptor number and adenylate cyclase activity. Blunted reflex responses in this model of early hypertension must be due to factors operating at some locus other than the beta-adrenergic receptor-adenylate cyclase complex.

Abnormal adrenal catecholamine synthesis in salt-sensitive Dahl rats

The possible role of catecholamines in the abnormal renal response to salt loading, a genetic defect resulting in hypertension in the salt-sensitive strain of Dahl rats, was investigated by measuring the adrenal synthesis of norepinephrine, epinephrine, and dopamine as well as their content in several tissues and the urinary excretion of these catecholamines as well as some of their metabolites at the height of salt-induced hypertension. We found that salt-sensitive Dahl rats, compared with salt-resistant Dahl rats, have a higher adrenal synthesis of [3H]norepinephrine following a pulse injection of [3H]tyrosine, a higher adrenal norepinephrine and epinephrine content but a lower kidney and heart ventricle content of dopamine and norepinephrine, and a decreased excretion of urinary dopamine, dihydroxyphenylacetic acid, 3-methoxytyramine, and homovanillic acid. These data suggest that the primary abnormality in salt-sensitive Dahl rats may be their inability to turn off, during high salt intake, their increased adrenal norepinephrine synthesis from dopamine. The abnormal catecholamine response of salt-sensitive Dahl rats to high salt intake indirectly suggests increased noradrenergic activity and decreased dopaminergic activity in the kidney, which may be important mechanisms in the sodium retention and hypertension of these rats.

The sympathetic nervous system in clinical and experimental hypertension

In summary, many lines of evidence indicate that the sympathetic nervous system, via the renal nerves, plays an important role in the pathogenesis of renovascular hypertension in humans and laboratory animals. Patients with established renovascular hypertension have increased sympathetic nervous system activity, as evidenced by increased plasma and urinary norepinephrine levels, elevated excretion of catecholamine metabolites, and an exaggerated depressor response to centrally acting sympatholytic agents. The observation that converting enzyme inhibitors can cause both blood pressure and urinary norepinephrine excretion to return to normal in patients with renovascular hypertension is consistent with the interpretation that activation of the sympathetic nervous system in these subjects is, at least in part, angiotensin-induced. The sympathetic nervous system, via the efferent renal nerves, plays a role in the pathogenesis of hypertension in a number of experimental models. In the spontaneously hypertensive rat of the Okamoto strain (SHR) and in the DOCA/NaCl hypertensive model, increased renal efferent nerve activity contributes to the development of hypertension by causing increased renal sodium retention. In both of these experimental models, renal denervation delays the development and blunts the severity of hypertension. This delay is associated with increased urinary sodium excretion, suggesting a renal efferent mechanism. In contrast to the predominantly efferent renal nerve mechanisms observed in the DOCA-NaCl and SHR models, studies of the effects of renal denervation in one-kidney, one-clip and two-kidney, one-clip Goldblatt hypertensive rats suggest that renal afferent nerves are important in these models of hypertension. Total renal denervation in rats with established 1K, 1C and 2K, 1C hypertension attenuates the severity of the hypertension without altering sodium intake or excretion, renin activity, water intake, or renal function. Thus, efferent renal nerve activity does not appear to be involved in the development of maintenance of 1K, 1C or 2K, 1C hypertension. In contrast with the findings in SHR and DOCA-NaCl rats, these studies provide indirect evidence that the renal afferent nerves play a role in the pathogenesis of this form of experimental hypertension. The major effect of renal denervation in these models appears to be an interruption of renal afferent nerve activity, which by a direct feedback mechanism attenuates systemic sympathetic tone, thereby lowering blood pressure.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Effect of renal denervation on the development of cellophane-wrap hypertension in rabbits

The development of hypertension in rabbits with bilateral cellophane wrapping of the kidneys was studied in animals with and without surgical denervation of the kidneys. Mean arterial pressure was measured before and 14 and 28 days after surgery. After 14 and 28 days of wrapping, mean arterial pressure had increased 12 +/- 3 mmHg and 31 +/- 3 mmHg in rabbits with innervated kidneys and 7 +/- 2 mmHg and 26 +/- 2 mmHg in rabbits with denervated kidneys, respectively. The increases in arterial pressure were significantly less in the denervated animals. In sham wrap animals, renal denervation also resulted in significantly lower arterial pressure than in sham wrap+sham denervated rabbits. Noradrenaline concentration of denervated kidneys averaged only 4% of that measured in kidneys subjected to sham denervation. The results show that renal denervation slightly attenuated the degree of hypertension developed following renal wrapping. Since renal denervation produced a similar small decrease in arterial pressure in normotensive rabbits it is suggested that the effect is non-specific and probably due to loss of efferent renal sympathetic nerves.

Systemic and coronary hemodynamic effects of pinacidil in awake normotensive and hypertensive dogs

We studied the systemic and coronary hemodynamic effects of a new antihypertensive agent, pinacidil, in nine morphine-sedated chronically instrumented dogs with one-kidney renal hypertension and eight similarly treated sham-operated normotensive dogs. The renal hypertensive dogs exhibited higher mean aortic blood pressure, total peripheral vascular resistance, and plasma renin activity before pinacidil administration than the sham-operated animals. The renal hypertensive dogs also had a lower left ventricular norepinephrine content, but the two groups did not differ significantly in plasma norepinephrine levels, cardiac output, or heart rate. Pinacidil decreased mean aortic pressure and total peripheral vascular resistance and increased cardiac output and heart rate in both groups. The changes in aortic pressure, total peripheral vascular resistance, and cardiac output were similar between the two groups, but the increase in heart rate was attenuated in renal hypertension. The peak rate of rise of left ventricular pressure (dP/dt), the ratio of left ventricular dP/dt and the developed pressure during isovolumic contraction (dP/dt/P), myocardial oxygen consumption, and plasma norepinephrine levels increased after pinacidil administration in the sham-operated dogs, but did not change in the renal hypertension group. The two groups did not differ in their responses of left ventricular dP/dt to intravenous isoproterenol. Pinacidil also caused coronary vasodilation in both groups, as evidenced by an increase in coronary blood flow and decreases in coronary vascular resistance and myocardial oxygen extraction. The decrease in myocardial oxygen extraction was similar in the two groups, but the increase in coronary blood flow was significantly less (p less than 0.05), probably because of the absence of an increase in myocardial oxygen consumption in the renal hypertensive dogs.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Pathophysiology of experimental renovascular hypertension

The genesis of renovascular hypertension follows a continuum from an acute to a chronic phase. Reduction in renal perfusion initiates renin release and angiotensin-mediated systemic vasoconstriction. Aldosterone secretion, sodium and water retention, and expansion of the extracellular volume ensue. Sustained hypertension is further maintained by interacting physiologic mechanisms including increased angiotensin II sensitivity, vasopressin, ouabain-like substance, the sympathetic nervous system, CNS mechanisms, autoregulation, and structural changes.

Sympathetic activity and cardiac adrenergic receptors in one-kidney, one clip hypertension in rats

The activity of the sympathetic nervous system, as measured by levels of plasma and cardiac catecholamines and catecholamine metabolites and the function of cardiac alpha- and beta-adrenergic receptors, was evaluated at 3 days and 4 weeks after induction of one-kidney, one clip hypertension (1K1C) in the rat. At 3 days, the plasma level of norepinephrine (NE) was lower in the 1K1C group than the control group (p less than 0.01), whereas epinephrine (E) and the metabolites dihydroxymandelic acid (DOMA), dihydroxyphenylglycol (DOPEG), and normetanephrine (NMN) were similar in both groups. In addition, cardiac content of catecholamines, their metabolites, and adrenergic receptors were similar in both groups. At 4 weeks, plasma levels of NE and DOPEG were lower (p less than 0.01), whereas levels of DOMA and NMN were higher (p less than 0.02 and p less than 0.001, respectively) in the 1K1C group than the control group. Cardiac content of NE (p less than 0.01), and DOPEG (p less than 0.05) was significantly lower, whereas DOMA and NMN were significantly higher (p less than 0.01) in the 1K1C group as compared to controls. In addition, cardiac density of both alpha- and beta-adrenergic receptors was reduced in the 1K1C group, whereas receptor affinities were unchanged.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Noradrenergic transmission in the isolated portal vein of the spontaneously hypertensive rat

The effect of electrical field stimulation (1, 2, 5, 10 Hz for a total of 480 pulses at 15-minute intervals) on the release of 3H-norepinephrine from the superfused portal vein of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) or Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKY) of various ages was studied. The ages of the animals were (in weeks) 5-6 (prehypertensive), 8-10 (young hypertensives), 16-18 (older hypertensives), and 28 (mature hypertensives). There was no difference in the release of 3H-norepinephrine or developed tension of the portal vein to any frequency of field stimulation of SHR or WKY at 5-6 weeks of age. However, there was a significantly greater release of 3H-norepinephrine and developed tension of veins of SHR in response to low (1 or 2 Hz) but not high frequencies (5 or 10 Hz) at 8-10, 16-18, and 28 weeks of age. Vessels from hypertensive animals also developed greater resting tension and spontaneous activity, which was reduced to that of WKY in the presence of an alpha-adrenergic antagonist. The alpha 2 selective adrenergic antagonist yohimbine produced the same degree of enhancement of release of 3H-norepinephrine to field stimulation of veins obtained from both SHR and WKY at 5-6, 8-10 and 16-18 weeks of age. However, the facilitory effect of yohimbine was significantly attenuated in portal veins obtained from SHR at 28 weeks of age compared to age-matched WKY.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Neonatal 6-hydroxydopamine treatment and the development of renal hypertension in the rat

The onset and development of 2 kidney-2 clip renal hypertension was studied in chronically sympathectomized rats treated with 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) immediately after birth and with adrenal demedullation performed at the time of clipping. Blood pressure (BP) was lower in 6-OHDA treated animals than in untreated controls and the rate of hypertension development was similar in both groups. Urinary excretion of norepinephrine (NE) was significantly decreased during the 15th week and normal by the end of the 20th week. The cardiac NE content reached negligible levels while the mesenteric arteries retained 50% of its content. In the central nervous system (CNS) the 6-OHDA treatment induced a significant increase in NE concentration in the brain stem and medulla oblongata and a significant decrease in cerebellum. Hypertension produced a significant decrease in NE content in the brain stem while 6-OHDA treatment in hypertensive rats resulted in a generalized NE depletion in all the CNS areas. Results have shown that 6-OHDA treatment does not produce a complete and generally distributed sympathectomy; treatment reduces the level of BP but does not change the slope in BP increase.

Disposition of catecholamines in cardiovascular tissues of aorta coarcted hypertensive rats

Aorta-coarcted hypertensive rats and sham-operated normotensive rats were compared in order to assess the contribution of sympathetic nervous system activity to the elevated blood pressure in these rats at an early (6 days) and chronic (42 days) stage of hypertension. Norepinephrine (NE), epinephrine (E) and dopamine (DA) levels were quantitated in plasma, heart and vascular tissues (aorta, inferior vena cava, mesenteric artery and vein) using a radioenzymatic procedure. Body weight was significantly reduced and mean arterial blood pressure (MABP) significantly increased in the coarcted rats at both stages of hypertension. Plasma catecholamines did not differ at either stage of hypertension. The NE content of the heart and mesenteric artery was significantly decreased in the coarcted rats at both stages of hypertension but unchanged in the other vessels studied. E and DA levels in the heart and all vasculature analyzed remained unaltered at both stages of hypertension. The present results suggest that neither E nor DA makes a major contribution to the development and maintenance of hypertension in the aorta-coarcted rat. The observation of the reduced cardiac NE concentration in the coarcted rats together with literature reports of similar observations in other animal models of hypertension suggests that myocardial NE depletion is a common feature of the hypertension and not dependent on the methodology used to produce that hypertension.

Importance of the renal nerves in the pathogenesis of experimental hypertension

Anatomical studies have demonstrated sympathetic innervation of the renal arterioles, juxtaglomerular apparatus, and renal tubules. Physiologic studies of the effects of the renal efferent nerves on renin release and renal sodium handling indicate that they play an important role in body fluid homeostasis and cardiovascular regulation. In addition, evidence is accumulating that stimulation of intrarenal mechanoreceptors and chemoreceptors causes in increase in renal afferent nerve activity and that alterations in renal afferent nerve traffic are, in turn, associated with changes in blood pressure and in vasoconstrictor tone in the contralateral kidney. Further, recent studies have demonstrated functionally significant connections between renal afferent nerves and the central nervous system. Interruption of the renal sympathetic nerves has been shown to prevent or attenuate hypertension in a number of animal models, suggesting that the renal nerves have an important role in the pathogenesis of experimental hypertension. In the spontaneously hypertensive rate of the Okamoto strain (SHR) and the DOCA-NaCl rat, the delay in the development of hypertension produced by renal denervation is due in part to increased sodium excretion thought to be secondary to interruption of the renal efferent nerves. In contrast, in one-kidney, one clip and two-kidney, one clip Goldblatt hypertension in the rat and coarctation hypertension in the dog, the depressor effect of renal denervation is unrelated to changes in urinary sodium excretion or plasma renin activity. In these models the attenuation of hypertension following renal denervation appears to be secondary to a decrease in peripheral sympathetic activity. Evidence in the one-kidney model suggests that interruption of the renal afferent nerves lower blood pressure via an effect on central noradrenergic mechanisms.

The release of endogenous norepinephrine from the coccygeal artery of spontaneously hypertensive and Wistar-Kyoto rats

The potassium (K+)-induced release of endogenous norepinephrine from the coccygeal artery of spontaneously hypertensive rats has been studied as a function of the development of hypertension. The absolute amount of norepinephrine released by potassium was greater in spontaneously hypertensive rat than the normotensive Wistar-Kyoto rat, regardless of age or blood pressure. However, the %-fractional release was elevated only in the rats with chronic hypertension. Preincubation of tissues with the alpha 2-antagonist, yohimbine, significantly enhanced norepinephrine overflow in all tissues studied. Young hypertensive animals demonstrated an enhancement equal to the Wistar-Kyoto rat controls. In the adult spontaneously hypertensive rat, however, there was a significantly lesser enhancement produced by yohimbine. Levels of norepinephrine in the nerves supplying the artery were greater in the prehypertensive spontaneously hypertensive rat than the age-matched Wistar-Kyoto rat. The norepinephrine content in arteries from adult animals was equivalent. The explanation for the attenuation of the yohimbine effect of chronic hypertensive animals is unclear. Although several explanations are possible, the data are consistent with the hypothesis that spontaneously hypertensive rats with chronic hypertension have subsensitive prejunctional alpha 2-receptors as evidenced by an increased %-fractional release of norepinephrine and a decreased enhancement of overflow in the presence of yohimbine. Clearly, further studies are needed to answer this provocative question and to understand the complex interactions of adrenergic neurotransmission in hypertensive animals.

Norepinephrine turnover in the cardiovascular tissues and brain stem of the rabbit during development of one-kidney and two-kidney Goldblatt hypertension

To assess the role of the sympathetic and central noradrenergic neurons in one- and two- kidney Goldblatt hypertension, we examined the concentration and turnover of norepinephrine (NE) in the aorta, mesenteric artery, left ventricle, hypothalamus, midbrain, and pons medulla of hypertensive and control rabbits. Animals were made hypertensive by constriction of the left renal artery after right nephrectomy (1KGH group) or with the right kidney left intact (2KGH group), or were sham-operated on the renal artery (1KGC and 2KGC groups). At 14 days after the constriction, the blood pressure was increased to 136 +/- 3 mm Hg in the 1KGH vs 98 +/- 3 mm Hg in the 1KGC (p less than 0.001), and 136 +/- 2 mm Hg in the 2KGH vs 94 +/- 2 mm Hg in the 2KGC group (p less than 0.001). Turnover time in the aorta, mesenteric artery, and left ventricle in the 1KGH group was decreased to 47%, 45%, and 65% of that in the 1KGC group, respectively. Results suggest that enhanced sympathetic neuron activity in the cardiovascular system, especially in the arteries, contributes to the development of one-kidney Goldblatt hypertension. Norepinephrine turnover in the cardiovascular tissues in the 2KGH group and in the brain stem in the 1KGH and 2KGH group was not different from that in the control group.

Decrease in sympathetic nervous system activity and attenuation in response to stress following renal denervation in the one-kidney one-clip Goldblatt hypertensive rat

We have found that renal denervation in the one-kidney one-clip Goldblatt hypertensive rat results in an attenuation of the hypertension associated with a decrease in sympathetic nervous system activity. To test further the hypothesis that the renal nerves (afferents) contribute to the maintenance of hypertension in this model by modulating sympathetic nervous system activity, plasma norepinephrine and epinephrine changes in response to stress were compared in hypertensive sham-operated (n = 6), renal denervated (n = 6) and control (n = 7) animals. Stress was produced in conscious resting unrestrained animals by administering two brief electrical stimulations to the hindlimb. Resting plasma norepinephrine was significantly higher (P less than 0.01) in hypertensive sham-operated (420 +/- 41 pg/ml) compared to renal denervated (289 +/- 23 pg/ml) or control (296 +/- 25 pg/ml) animals. There was no difference in resting plasma epinephrine among the groups. In response to stress there were significantly greater absolute increases in plasma norepinephrine and epinephrine in hypertensive sham-operated animals compared to renal denervated and control groups, suggesting that the one-kidney one-clip rat exhibits an enhanced sympathoadrenal response to stress. The response to stress in renal denervated rats was the same as that in the control group. Taken together, these data support the concept that the renal afferent nerves modulate sympathetic nervous system activity in the one-kidney one-clip hypertensive rat.

Decrease in peripheral sympathetic nervous system activity following renal denervation or unclipping in the one-kidney one-clip Goldblatt hypertensive rat

Increased sympathetic nervous system activity has been demonstrated in established one-kidney one-clip hypertension in the rat. We have found that renal denervation in this model results in an attenuation of hypertension, unassociated with alterations in sodium or water balance or renin activity. To determine whether the depressor effect of renal denervation is associated with changes in peripheral sympathetic nervous system activity, sham operation (n = 12), renal denervation (n = 13), or unclipping (n = 13) was carried out 2 wk after the onset of one-kidney one-clip hypertension. Normotensive unine-phrectomized age- and sex-matched rats were used as controls (n = 14). Renal denervation resulted in a significant decrease in systolic blood pressure (201+/-7 to 151+/-6 mm Hg), while unclipping lowered systolic blood pressure to normotensive levels (130+/-6 mm Hg). 8 d after operation plasma norepinephrine and mean arterial pressure before and after ganglionic blockade with 30 mg/kg hexamethonium bromide were measured in conscious, unrestrained, resting animals, as indices of peripheral sympathetic nervous system activity. Plasma norepinephrine was significantly higher in hypertensive sham-operated rats (422+/-42 pg/ml) compared with normotensive controls (282+/-25 pg/ml) (P < 0.01). Both renal denervation and unclipping restored plasma norepinephrine to normal levels (273+/-22 and 294+/-24 pg/ml, respectively). Ganglionic blockade in hypertensive sham-operated animals resulted in a significantly greater decrease in mean arterial pressure than occurred in renal denervated, unclipped, or control rats. The data suggest that the depressor effect of renal denervation or unclipping in the one-kidney one-clip hypertensive rat is associated with a decrease in peripheral sympathetic nervous system activity.

Role of the renal nerves in the pathogenesis of one-kidney renal hypertension in the rat

Increased sympathetic nervous system activity has been demonstrated in established one-kidney one clip hypertension in the rat. To determine the importance of the renal nerves in this model of hypertension, renal denervation or sham operation was carried out 2 weeks after clipping. Systolic blood pressure (BP) after clipping the renal artery in 27 uninephrectomized male Charles River rats increased significantly from 125 +/- 3 mm Hg to a stable level of 185 +/-7 mm Hg by 2 weeks, in association with a positive sodium balance. Renal denervation in 13 animals resulted in a significant decrease in BP to 137 +/- 7 mm Hg, while no change in BP was seen after sham operation in 14 animals. There was no difference in mean daily water intake, mean daily sodium intake, mean daily urine volume, or mean fractional urinary sodium excretion between sham-operation and renal-denervated animals during the 2 weeks after operation. Plasma renin activity (PRA) and creatinine clearance were not significantly different at sacrifice 2 weeks after operation. Six of the renal-denervated rats were followed for 11 weeks after surgery. The BP rose again to hypertensive levels (187 +/- 8 mm Hg) by 5 weeks after renal denervation. Repeat renal denervation resulted in a significant decrease to 142 +/- 8 mm Hg. Renal denervation in eight rats with established one-kidney Grollman hypertension (185 +/- 8 mm Hg) also resulted ina significant decrease in systolic BP (143 +/- 8 mm Hg). The data demonstrate the importance of intact renal nerves in the maintenance of hypertension in the one-kidney renal hypertensive rat. The depressor effect of renal denervation is not mediated by alterations in sodium intake or excretion, water intake or excretion, creatinine clearance or PRA.

Role of central catecholamines in the control of blood pressure and drinking behavior

The role of central nervous system (CNS) catecholamines in the development of hypertension and the control of drinking behavior was assessed in rats by depleting these amines with 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA). Intraventricular administration of 6-OHDA completely prevented the development of one-kidney renal hypertension and abolished the associated increase in water consumption. 6-OHDA-treated rats showed deficits in drinking behavior when challenged with subcutaneous injections of angiotensin II (AII) and hypertonic sodium chloride. The acute pressor responses produced by intraventricular injections of AII and carbachol were virtually abolished by central catecholamine depletion. However, drinking produced by central cholinergic stimulation remained intact while AII drinking was significantly reduced. These data demonstrate that the integrity of CNS catecholamines is required for the development of one-kidney renal hypertension and the increased drinking which accompanies it. In addition, destruction of central catecholamine-containing neurons allows for a specific dissociation of the pressor and drinking responses produced by central cholinergic but not AII stimulation.

Regional changes in the activities of aminergic biosynthetic enzymes in the brains of hypertensive rats

The activities of monoamine biosynthetic enzymes were measured in brain regions of several hypertensive rat models at various ages. The types of hypertensive rats were the spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) and a stroke-prone substrain of the SHR as well as DOCA-salt and renal hypertensive rats. The genetically hypertensive rats had significantly elevated blood pressures as compared to the Wistar-Kyoto control rat after 5 weeks of age. During the early development of hypertension in the SHR, the activities of tyrosine hydroxylase in the hypothalamus and corpus striatum and of dopamine-beta-hydroxylase in the hypothalamus and pons-medulla were significantly higher than in the control rats. Tryptophan-hydroxylase was also elevated in the hypothalamus in SHR. From 3 to 8 weeks of age there appeared to be a significant correlation between hypothalamic dopamine-beta-hydroxylase activity and blood pressure in the hypertensive rats. In contrast, the activities of tyrosine hydroxylase and dopamine-beta-hydroxylase were slightly decreased in the DOCA-salt and renal hypertensive rats. It is suggested that noradrenergic or adrenergic neurons in the hypothalamus may participate in the initiation of elevated blood pressure in the genetic, but not in the DOCA-salt or renal hypertensive rats.

Central and peripheral adrenergic mechanisms in the development of deoxycorticosterone-saline hypertension in rats

The role of the sympathetic nervous system in the development of deoxycorticosterone-sodium chloride (DOCA-saline) hypertension was investigated by measuring plasma levels of norepinephrine, total catecholamines, and dopamine-beta-hydroxylase activity at intervals after the initiation of the DOCA-saline regimen. Plasma norepinephrine was significantly higher in DOCA-saline-treated rats at 4 and 7 weeks and in rats treated with saline alone at 4 weeks compared with that in untreated controls. Total plasma catecholamine levels (epinephrine and norepinephrine) and dopamine-beta-hydroxylase activity were similar in hypertensive rats, untreated controls, and rats that received either DOCA or saline alone. The increases in plasma norepinephrine levels may have resulted from centrally mediated increases in peripheral sympathetic neuronal activity, since the destruction of central catecholaminergic neurons with intracerebroventricularly administered 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) prevented both the DOCA-saline-induced rise in blood pressure and the increases in plasma norepinephrine. Rats treated with 6-OHDA consistently drank less water or saline than did vehicle-treated controls. The actions of centrally administered 6-OHDA on blood pressure and plasma norepinephrine levels were not secondary to a reduction in salt intake, however, since intact rats given a similar reduced saline intake became hypertensive and demonstrated elevated plasma norepinephrine concentrations. Chronic salt loading may cause a centrally mediated increase in peripheral sympathetic neuronal activity with raised plasma concentrations of norepinephrine. The increased adrenergic activity in the presence of mineralocorticoid-induced sodium retention leads to the development of hypertension.

Regulation of blood pressure by sympathetic nerve fibers and adrenal medulla in normotensive and hypertensive rats

The respective roles of the sympathetic nerve fibers and adrenal medulla in the regulation of blood pressure and heart rate were studied in normotensive and hypertensive rats. Chemical sympathectomy alone, by treatment with 6-OH-DA, or bilateral adrenalectomy reduced blood pressure only slightly in normotensive animals. In animals made hypertensive with deoxycorticosterone (DOCA) and saline, each of these procedures reduced blood pressure to a greater extent than in normotensive animals, but the blood pressure remained at hypertensive levels. The combination of both procedures resulted in a greater fall in blood pressure than could have been predicted from individual effects, suggesting that the removal of one component of the sympathetic system can be compensated for by a hyperactivity of the remaining component. After chemical sympathectomy, adrenalectomy produced a rapid and marked fall in blood pressure in both normotensive and hypertensive animals and the blood pressure stabilized around 50 mm Hg within 1 hour after adrenalectomy. Since the basal blood pressure was identical in normotensive and hypertensive animals after removal of both components of the sympathetic system, this suggests that the most likely factor which would account for an elevated blood pressure in rats treated with DOCA and sodium is a synergic hyperactivity of the sympathetic fibers and adrenal medulla.

Turnover and synthesis of norepinephrine in experimental hypertension in rats

The turnover of norepinephrine and the enzymes responsible for the synthesis of catecholamines were studied in various organs of rats made hypertensive by DOCA and NaCl. After inhibition of tyrosine hydroxylase by α-methyl- p -tyrosine, an increase in the rate of disappearance of endogenous norepinephrine in the heart, intestine, and spleen of hypertensive rats indicated an increased norepinephrine turnover rate in these organs: Similarly, the rate of decline of 3 H-norepinephrine endogenously formed from 3 H-dopamine seemed to be increased in the same organs from hypertensive animals. In contrast, the salivary glands showed no change in turnover of norepinephrine.

The conversion of tyrosine to catecholamines was normal in the hearts of the hypertensive rats but it was increased in the adrenal glands. The β-hydroxylation of dopamine to norepinephrine was normal or slightly increased in the heart, spleen, intestine, and salivary glands of hypertensive animals. The phenylethanolamine N-methyl transferase activity was normal in the adrenal glands. It thus seems that in hypertension produced by DOCA and NaCl the turnover of norepinephrine is increased in various organs without any detectable change in the synthesis rate, with the exception of the adrenal gland, in which it was increased. This might explain the reduction of the endogenous norepinephrine levels observed in many tissues of animals made hypertensive by DOCA and sodium.