Effect of chronic NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) on blood pressure and renal function in conscious uninephrectomized spontaneously hypertensive rats.

We have studied during 30 days the effect of a low dose of NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (1 mg.kg-1.day-1 in drinking water) in the presence of D- or L-arginine (1 mg.kg-1.day-1 in drinking water) in comparison with D- or L-arginine alone on blood pressure and renal function in conscious uninephrectomized female spontaneously hypertensive rats. At the end of the study, there was a significant increase in systolic blood pressure in the NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester + D-arginine group (307 +/- 6 mmHg (1 mmHg = 133.3 Pa), n = 14, p < 0.05) in comparison with NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester + L-arginine (281 +/- 6 mmHg, n = 14), L-arginine (262 +/- 5 mmHg, n = 13), and D-arginine (258 +/- 7 mmHg, n = 12) groups. There were no changes in diuresis, proteinuria, or sodium and potassium excretion between differently treated animals during this study. These results suggest that in uninephrectomized female spontaneously hypertensive rats, after 1 month blockade of NO synthesis with a low dose of NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester, vasculature is under tonic control by NO and it is not correlated with renal dysfunction.