Angiotensin-(1-7) Blockade Attenuates Captopril- or Hydralazine-induced Cardiovascular Protection in Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats Treated With NG-nitro-l-Arginine Methyl Ester

1. The aim of this study was to clarify the extent to which vascular nitric oxide contributes to basal blood pressure in conscious spontaneously hypertensive rats and normotensive Wistar Kyoto rats. 2. The contribution of vascular nitric oxide to maintenance of blood pressure was estimated by measuring the pressor response to an intravenous injection of nitric oxide synthase inhibitor, Nω-l-arginine methyl ester, given after serial injections of captopril, vasopressin V1-receptor antagonist (V1-antagonist) and ganglion blocker (pentolinium) in conscious spontaneously hypertensive and Wistar Kyoto rats aged 20–28 weeks. To estimate the ‘amplifier property’ of hypertrophied vasculature in spontaneously hypertensive rats, which is known to modulate pressor responses, the lower blood pressure plateau after serial injections of captopril, V1-antagonist and pentolinium and the maximum blood pressure elicited by subsequent injection of increasing doses of phenylephrine were also measured. 3. The serial injections of captopril, V1-antagonist and pentolinium decreased mean arterial pressure from 164 ± 9 mmHg to 67 ± 2 mmHg and from 117 ± 2 mmHg to 49 ± 1 mmHg in spontaneously hypertensive and Wistar Kyoto rats respectively. The subsequent injection of Nω-l-arginine methyl ester restored mean arterial pressure almost to its control levels in both spontaneously hypertensive and Wistar Kyoto rats. The absolute changes in mean arterial pressure elicited by Nω-l-arginine methyl ester were significantly greater in spontaneously hypertensive than in Wistar Kyoto rats (P < 0.01), but there was no significant difference in the responses to Nω-l-arginine methyl ester when they were expressed as percentages of either the lower blood pressure plateau or maximum blood pressure. 4. These results indicate that basal blood pressure in both spontaneous hypertensive and Wistar Kyoto rats is maintained by a balance between vascular nitric oxide and major pressor systems. They also suggest that the vasodilatory effect of vascular nitric oxide does not differ between spontaneously hypertensive and Wistar Kyoto rats, and that the increased pressor effect of Nω-l-arginine methyl ester in spontaneously hypertensive rats is due to a vascular amplifier mechanism.

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

Canadian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology ◽

10.1139/y97-183 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 76 (1) ◽

pp. 63-67 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

María Reverte ◽

Olga Flores ◽

Belén Gallego ◽

Antonio Lestón ◽

José Miguel López-Novoa

Keyword(s):

Blood Pressure ◽

Drinking Water ◽

Renal Function ◽

Methyl Ester ◽

Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats ◽

Low Dose ◽

Potassium Excretion ◽

Hypertensive Rats ◽

Spontaneously Hypertensive ◽

Sodium And Potassium

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.Key words: Key words: NG -nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME), kidney, hypertension, spontaneously hypertensive rats, renaldysfunction, uninephrectomy.

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