Renal hemodynamics and vascular reactivity in canine DOCA-salt hypertension.

Because of the potential role that the kidney may play in deoxycorticosterone acetate (DOCA)-salt hypertension, changes in renal blood flow, renal vascular reactivity, and renal adrenergic vascular tone were followed in the conscious instrumented dog. DOCA-salt was administered daily after obtaining control measurements. Systemic mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) was monitored with an indwelling catheter, renal blood flow (RBF) was measured electromagnetically using an implanted blood flow probe, and drugs were administered intrarenal arterially through an indwelling renal artery catheter. During the first week of DOCA-salt administration MAP increased from 106 +/- 3 to 118 +/- 2 mmHg and at week 2 to 123 +/- 2 mmHg (P less than 0.01). RBF increased from 275 +/- 32 to 336 +/- 34 during week 1 (P less than 0.05) and to 324 +/- 29 ml/min during week 2. The log ED50 of norepinephrine administered intra-arterially decreased from 1.66 +/- 0.114 to 1.48 +/- 0.091 and 1.41 +/- 0.067 ng/ml (P less than 0.05), and of angiotensin II from 2.58 +/- 0.072 to 2.31 +/- 0.09 (P less than 0.05) and 2.38 +/- 0.05 pg/ml, during weeks 1 and 2, respectively. There was, however, no increase in adrenergic vascular tone as determined by the change in RBF obtained with the intra-arterial infusion of alpha-adrenoceptor antagonists. These experiments indicate that RBF is not compromised in canine DOCA-salt hypertension, and renal adrenergic tone is no greater in the hypertensive than in the normotensive control period.