Resting intracellular pH in mesenteric resistance arteries from spontaneously hypertensive and Wistar-Kyoto rats: effects of amiloride and 4,4'-diisothiocyanatostilbene-2,2'-disulphonic acid.

In order to investigate the membrane-located mechanisms that control intracellular pH in resistance arteries, mesenteric vessels from spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKY) at 5 weeks of age were mounted in a myograph and loaded with 2',7'-bis(carboxyethyl)5,6-carboxyfluorescein (BCECF). Resting intracellular pH was studied over 10 min in the presence of amiloride (1 mmol/l), or 4,4'-diisothiocyanatostilbene-2,2'-disulphonic acid (DIDS; 0.2 mmol/l). In the presence of DIDS, there was no significant difference in the resulting fall in intracellular pH over 10 min between rat strains. However, in the presence of amiloride there was a significantly greater fall in intracellular pH in SHR (P less than 0.001). These data indicate that in the resting state Na(+)-H+ exchange is increased in SHR resistance arteries at the time when blood pressure is rising and vascular remodelling is taking place.