Natriuretic effect of furosemide after inhibition of prostaglandin synthetase.

The effects of furosemide on stimulation of renin secretion and urinary sodium excretion were studied in dogs pretreated with the prostaglandin synthetase inhibitors, indomethacin and meclofenamate. Pretreatment with these drugs failed to modify the natriuretic response to furosemide but completely blocked the rise in arterial plasma renin concentration produced by the diuretic. The organic acid probenecid did not affect either the natriuretic response or the increase in renin. In separate experiments, it was not possible to separate the effects of indomethacin on prostaglandin secretion, the renin-angiotensin system or renal hemodynamics. It is concluded that in the dog the natriuretic response to furosemide is not linked to the possible prostaglandin-induced increase in renal blood flow. Indomethacin apparently affects furosemide-induced renin secretion at both the vascular and macula densa sites. The data also suggest that the prostaglandins may be more important than the renin-angiotensin system in the modulation of intrarenal hemodynamics.