Failure of acute saralasin to reverse chronic hypertension in fetal lambs.

Upper body arterial hypertension developed in 12 fetal lambs after chronic suprarenal aortic blood flow reduction. Sixty minutes after blood flow reduction, intravenous saralasin infusion was able to reduce upper body mean arterial blood pressure to control levels. Although saralasin infusion was able to decrease upper body arterial blood pressure after 1 day of hypertension, it was not able to return blood pressure to control levels. Three or more days later, saralasin was unable to cause a significant reduction in upper body arterial blood pressure. We conclude that, although the renin-angiotensin system has a role in maintaining the elevated blood pressure after greater than or equal to 1 day of suprarenal aortic blood flow reduction, some other mechanism also participates. We have ruled out a role for changing blood volume, and our results suggest that an elevation of plasma catecholamines is not responsible. Some other pathway for fluid regulation available to the fetus may be responsible.