Renal and hemodynamic effects of endothelin in anesthetized dogs.

The effects of endothelin on systemic hemodynamics and renal functions were investigated in anesthetized dogs. Infusion of endothelin at a dose of 1 ng/kg/min decreased renal blood flow and increased renal vascular resistance and filtration fraction. Endothelin at doses higher than 10 ng/kg/min significantly decreased cardiac output, glomerular filtration rate, renal plasma flow, urine volume, and urinary sodium excretion. Mean arterial pressure showed a transient decrease at doses higher than 50 ng/kg/min. These results showed that endothelin in systemic administration has effects on renal functions as well as on systemic hemodynamics.