Metabolism of 3H-catecholamines in the heart and adrenals of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) after running stress.

The metabolism of 3H-catecholamines after i.p. injection of 3H-tyrosine was studied in the heart and adrenals of spontaneously hypertensive (SHR) and normotensive Wistar (NCR) rats at rest and following running stress. In the heart of 8-week-old NCR a sharp stress-induced increase of the levels of 3H-A and 3H-DA with an elevation of the levels of their metabolites was observed. In contrast, there was no stress-related change in the levels of 3H-NA, 3H-A and 3H-VMA in the hearts of young SHR, while the 3H-DA level, though increased after stress, remained still lower than in the age-matched NCR. In the phase of established hypertension (24 weeks) lower levels of 3H-NA and 3H-A in the heart already present at rest, as compared with NCR, remained lower after stress but the elevation of the level of their metabolites 3H-VMA and 3H-MA, was similar in both strains. In the adrenals of 8-week-old SHR the basal 3H-A level was already higher than in NCR. Stress provoked a marked decrease of adrenal 3H-A accompanied by increased formation of 3H-MA and an increase in the levels of 3H-NA and 3H-DA, more pronounced in SHR than NCR. In the phase of advanced hypertension a further elevation of 3H-A and 3H-MA and an increase of basal 3H-DA level in the adrenals were found at rest. The decreased levels of 3H-catecholamines in the heart of stressed young and non-stressed older SHR may indicate an increase in their rate of release and/or their impaired synthesis. An increased basal level of 3H-A in the adrenals of SHR concomitant with the development of hypertension, may reflect an increased synthesis and/or decreased release, as evidenced by the proportionally lower increase of its extraneuronal metabolite 3H-MA. The adrenal response to stress, more intense in SHR than in NCR, may be considered as due to enhanced release of 3H-A from the gland.