Reactivity of intrarenal arteries to vasoconstrictor and vasorelaxant polypeptides in adult stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats.

The reactivity of intrarenal arteries to vasoconstrictor and vasodilator polypeptides was examined in adult stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRSP). The contraction response to endothelin-1 (ET-1) was greater in SHRSP than in age-matched Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKY), and so was the pD2 estimate (8.05+/-0.03 in SHRSP, and 7.73+/-0.06 in WKY; n=5, P < 0.05). The contraction response to, and the pD2 estimate of, vasopressin were comparable in SHRSP and WKY. Neuropeptide Y did not contract the intrarenal arteries. In norepinephrine-precontracted arteries with intact endothelium, substance P and neurokinin A did not relax the arteries of either SHRSP or WKY, while calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) induced a profound relaxation response. Relaxation response to CGRP was significantly greater in SHRSP than in WKY. Atrial, brain, and C-type natriuretic peptides (ANP, BNP, CNP), vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP), and peptide histidine isoleucine (PHI) all caused relaxation responses, with a greater extent of relaxation to ANP, BNP, and VIP and a less extent to CNP and PHI. However, there were no significant differences in these relaxation responses between SHRSP and WKY. The current results revealed the character of heterogeneity of rat intrarenal arteries in response to vasoconstrictor and vasodilator peptides, and showed an enhanced reactivity to ET-1 and to CGRP in SHRSP.