Functional response to graded increases in renal nerve activity during hypoxia in conscious rabbits

1996 ◽  
Vol 271 (6) ◽  
pp. R1489-R1499 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. C. Malpas ◽  
A. Shweta ◽  
W. P. Anderson ◽  
G. A. Head

Changes in renal sympathetic nerve activity (SNA) are postulated to influence renal function in selective ways, such that different levels of activation produce particular renal responses, initially in renin release, then sodium excretion, with changes in renal hemodynamics occurring only with much greater stimulus intensities. The aim of this study was to determine the renal hemodynamic and excretory responses to graded physiological increases in renal SNA induced by breathing different hypoxic gas mixtures. Experiments were performed in seven conscious rabbits subjected to four gas mixtures (14% O2, 10% O2, 10% O2 + 3% CO2, and 10% O2 + 5% CO2) and instrumented for recording of renal nerve activity. After a 30-min control period, rabbits were subjected to one of the four gas mixtures for 30 min, and then room air was resumed for a further 30 min. The four gas mixtures increased renal SNA by 14, 38, 49, and 165% respectively, but arterial pressure (thus renal perfusion pressure) was not altered by any of the gas mixtures. The greatest level of sympathetic activation produced significant falls in glomerular filtration rate (GFR), renal blood flow, sodium and fluid excretion, and significant increases in plasma renin activity. These returned to levels not significantly different from control conditions in the 30-min period after the gas mixture. When the changes to the various gas mixtures were analyzed within each rabbit, a significant linear relationship was found with all variables to the increase in SNA. Renal denervation in a separate group of seven rabbits completely abolished all of the above responses to the different gas mixtures. Thus graded activation of renal nerves induced by changes in inspired gas mixtures resulted in graded decreases in renal blood flow, GFR, and sodium excretion and graded increases in renin activity, with the changes occurring across a similar range of nerve activities; there was no evidence for a selective change in any renal variable.

1976 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. J. Johns ◽  
Barbara A. Lewis ◽  
Bertha Singer

1. The effect of low-frequency stimulation of the renal nerves on renal function and renin release has been investigated. The experiments were performed in unilaterally nephrectomized, anaesthetized cats in which the nerves to the remaining kidney were sectioned. 2. When stimulation frequency was adjusted to reduce renal blood flow by approximately 15% for 15 min, glomerular filtration rate was hardly affected. The ratio sodium clearance/glomerular filtration rate was significantly reduced and plasma renin activity was significantly increased. 3. When the renal nerves were similarly stimulated in the presence of the β-adrenergic receptor blocking agent, propranolol, the glomerular filtration rate was significantly reduced and the rise in plasma renin activity was significantly inhibited. The reduction of sodium clearance/glomerular filtration rate was as great as in the control animals. 4. The results are consistent with the view that the maintenance of glomerular filtration rate, during renal nerve stimulation which reduced renal blood flow, may be mediated by the local generation of angiotensin. The results also suggest that angiotensin does not play an important role in the sodium retention associated with increased renal nerve activity.


1997 ◽  
Vol 273 (2) ◽  
pp. R597-R608 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. J. Janssen ◽  
S. C. Malpas ◽  
S. L. Burke ◽  
G. A. Head

To examine the influence of the various frequency components of renal sympathetic nerve activity (RSNA) on renal blood flow (RBF) dynamics, a Doppler flow probe and renal nerve electrode were implanted on the left renal artery of 10 rabbits. Experiments were performed 4-9 days after surgery. Physiological changes in RSNA were induced by subjecting the rabbits to periods of breathing hypoxic gas mixtures. Signals were sampled at 1 kHz and analyzed by spectral analysis. During moderate hypoxia (arterial PO2 = 44 +/- 1 mmHg), arterial pressure and heart rate did not change, averaged RSNA increased by 90 +/- 7%, and RBF fell by 18 +/- 3%. In a separate group of renal-denervated rabbits (n = 6), no changes in RBF occurred during hypoxia. In intact rabbits, 53 +/- 4% of spectral density power of RSNA was found at the cardiac frequency and the remainder was predominantly coupled to respiration (approximately 0.9 Hz). During moderate hypoxia the amplitude of the RSNA oscillations increased 17 +/- 6 times at the cardiac frequency and 10 +/- 3 times at the respiration-related frequency. Modulation of RBF variability by the fluctuations of RSNA at the cardiac- and respiration-related frequency was, however, small. The normalized transfer gain between RSNA and RBF was approximately 0.1 at > 0.5 Hz. This means that, at > 0.5 Hz, maximally 10% of the amplitude of the RSNA oscillations is transmitted to corresponding RBF fluctuations. These transfer properties did not change during hypoxia. At < 0.5 Hz the transfer gain between RSNA and RBF increased. During moderate hypoxia, 0.3-Hz coherent oscillations of RSNA and RBF were found. In renal-denervated rabbits, 0.3-Hz oscillations in RBF were absent. Thus the renal vasculature was able to follow relatively low-frequency (< 0.5-Hz) fluctuations of RSNA and responded with corresponding oscillations in RBF. In contrast, the renal vasculature responded with increased constriction at the high-frequency (> 0.5-Hz) fluctuations of RSNA. These findings suggest that, in conscious rabbits, high-frequency oscillations of RSNA contribute to the vasoconstrictor tone, whereas the lower frequencies of RSNA contribute to the variability of RBF.


1992 ◽  
Vol 262 (5) ◽  
pp. R926-R932 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. C. Grady ◽  
E. M. Bullivant

The extent to which renal blood flow (RBF) varied during normal daily activity and its dependence on renal nerve activity were studied in unrestrained rats. RBF (measured with a pulsed Doppler flow probe) and behavior pattern (observed with a video camera) were recorded during both phases of the light-dark cycle (n = 11). RBF was highest (100%) when the rat was fully relaxed and apparently asleep (9% time) but was significantly lower (P less than 0.01) during the remainder of the time. When quiescent but not fully relaxed, RBF was 89.7 +/- 0.3% of the maximum; when alert and completely still, it was 74.1 +/- 0.8%; and when grooming, it was 63.7 +/- 0.9%. Mean daily RBF was 80% of maximum flow. During saline infusion into cuffs around the renal arteries, RBF was reduced to 38.4 +/- 0.7% of maximum flow by gentle handling. When the infusion was changed to Xylocaine (5%), which blocked transmission in the renal nerve, similar treatment reduced RBF to 80.2 +/- 0.7% with ipsilateral and to 94.7 +/- 0.7% with bilateral infusions. We conclude that RBF varies considerably in unrestrained animals under normal conditions and that the variations largely result from changes in renal nerve activity.


1982 ◽  
Vol 62 (5) ◽  
pp. 457-464 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. T. Veressa ◽  
C. K. Chong ◽  
H. Sonnenberg

1. The possible involvement of renal nerves in the diuresis and natriuresis of blood volume expansion was studied in anaesthetized rats. Acute unilateral renal denervation caused increased excretion of fluid, sodium and potassium. 2. Renal blood and plasma flows were elevated without change in filtration rate. Intracortical blood flow distribution was not affected by the denervation. 3. Blood infusion caused diuresis, natriuresis and kaliuresis in both denervated and shamdenervated kidneys, associated with comparable initial increases in filtration and decreases in renal blood flow. No change in flow distribution was found, whether or not renal nerves were intact. 4. Although the magnitude of the excretory response to hypervolaemia was greater in denervated kidneys, the temporal pattern was identical with that of sham-operated kidneys. Our data thus do not show an effect of efferent renal nerve activity on volume natriuresis.


1994 ◽  
Vol 266 (2) ◽  
pp. E230-E241 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Nakamura ◽  
E. J. Johns

In this study, we try to determine the influence of renal nerve activity on renal function, plasma renin activity (PRA), and the corresponding expression of renin and angiotensinogen genes in the kidney. In pentobarbitone-anesthetized rats, the left renal nerves were stimulated (15 V, 0.2 ms) at frequencies to reduce left renal blood flow by 15, 30, and 45%. There were corresponding reductions in glomerular filtration rate from 12 to 52% and absolute and fractional sodium excretions from 20 to 75%. PRA levels in control rats were 10.8 +/- 1.5 and were increased to 65.9 +/- 9.1, 144.2 +/- 19.7, and 277.2 +/- 22.0 ng angiotensin I.h-1.ml-1 after 1 h at each of the three levels of nerve stimulation. Renal renin mRNA was similar in innervated and denervated kidneys and was not affected by the lowest level of nerve stimulation; however, neurally induced decreases in blood flow to 30 and 45% increased renin mRNA levels by 3.0- and 3.4-fold (both P < 0.05), respectively. Angiotensinogen mRNA levels were higher (P < 0.05) in kidneys subjected to the lowest level of nerve stimulation, but when renal blood flow was reduced by 30 and 45%, expression of this gene was unchanged. Stimulation of the renal nerves in the presence of the beta 1-adrenoceptor antagonist atenolol only doubled PRA at the highest rates of stimulation. Neither renal renin nor angiotensinogen mRNA were changed during neurally mediated reductions in renal blood flow of 15 or 30% after administration of atenolol.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


1992 ◽  
Vol 70 (5) ◽  
pp. 733-734 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Michael Wyss

The kidney is the most highly innervated peripheral organ, and both the excretory and endocrine functions of the kidney are regulated by renal nerve activity. The kidney plays a dominant role in body fluid homeostasis, blood ionic concentration, and pH and thereby contributes importantly to systemic blood pressure control. Early studies suggested that the neural-renal interactions were responsible only for short-term adjustments in renal function, but more recent studies indicate that the renal nerves may be a major contributor to chronic renal defects leading to established hypertension and (or) renal disease. The neural-renal interaction is also of considerable interest as a model to elucidate the interplay between the nervous system and peripheral organs, since there is abundant anatomical and physiological information characterizing the renal nerves. The investigator has easy access to the renal nerves and the neural influence on renal function is directly quantifiable both in vivo and in vitro. In this symposium that was presented at the 1990 annual convention of the Society for Neuroscience in St. Louis, Missouri, three prominent researchers evaluate the most recent progress in understanding the interplay between the nervous system and the kidney and explore how the results of these studies relate to the broader questions concerning the nervous system's interactions.First, Luciano Barajas examines the detailed anatomy of the intrarenal distribution of the efferent and afferent renal nerves along the nephron and vasculature, and he evaluates the physiological role of each of the discrete components of the innervation. His basic science orientation combined with his deep appreciation of the clinical consequence of the failure of neural-renal regulation enhances his discussion of the anatomy. Ulla C. Kopp discusses the role of the renorenal reflex, which alters renal responses following stimulation of the contralateral kidney. She also considers her recent findings that efferent renal nerve activity can directly modify sensory feedback to the spinal cord from the kidney. Finally, J. Michael Wyss examines the functional consequences of neural control of the kidney in health and disease. Although the nervous system has often been considered as only an acute regulator of visceral function, current studies into hypertension and renal disease suggest that neural-renal dysfunction may be an important contributor to chronic diseases.Together, these presentations examine most of the recent advances in the area of neural-renal interactions and point out how these data form a basis for future research into neuronal interactions with all visceral organs. The relative simplicity of the neural-renal interaction makes this system an important model with which to elucidate all neural-peripheral and neural-neural interactions.


1980 ◽  
Vol 58 (5) ◽  
pp. 477-483 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. R. Wilson ◽  
M. Cusimano ◽  
U. Honrath

The role of the renal nerves in the altered sodium reabsorption which occurs during increased ureteral pressure was studied using clearance techniques in anaesthetized rats undergoing diuresis induced by isotonic saline infusion. In rats with a sham denervated kidney, an ipsilateral increase in ureteral pressure to 20 cm H2O resulted in a marked and significant decrease in sodium and water excretion, increased fractional sodium reabsorption, and increased urine osmolality with no significant change in glomerular filtration rate. A similar significant ipsilateral increase in tubular reabsorption of sodium occurred in rats with chronically denervated kidneys during increased ureteral pressure. The changes in tubular reabsorption were rapidly reversible after return of ureteral pressure to normal. These experiments indicate that enhanced tubular reabsorption of sodium during an ipsilateral increase in ureteral pressure is not mediated by increased renal nerve activity. During the antinatriuresis of increased ureteral pressure there was a decrease in the fractional reabsorption of sodium from the opposite normal kidney. The role of the renal nerves in this compensatory change in function in the opposite kidney was studied in two further groups of animals. The renal response to a contralateral increase in ureteral pressure was similar in denervated and sham-denervated kidneys. The results indicate that altered renal nerve activity, through ipsilateral or contralateral renorenal reflexes, is not responsible for the changes in tubular reabsorption of sodium which occur during increased ureteral pressure induced by partial ureteral obstruction.


1998 ◽  
Vol 274 (5) ◽  
pp. R1283-R1294 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon C. Malpas ◽  
Roger G. Evans ◽  
Geoff A. Head ◽  
Elena V. Lukoshkova

We have examined the role of the renal sympathetic nerves in the renal blood flow (RBF) response to hemorrhage in seven conscious rabbits. Hemorrhage was produced by blood withdrawal at 1.35 ml ⋅ min−1 ⋅ kg−1for 20 min while RBF and renal sympathetic nerve activity (RSNA) were simultaneously measured. Hemorrhage was associated with a gradual increase in RSNA and decrease in RBF from the 4th min. In seven denervated animals, the resting RBF before hemorrhage was significantly greater (48 ± 1 vs. 31 ± 1 ml/min intact), and the decrease in RBF did not occur until arterial pressure also began to fall (8th min); however, the overall percentage change in RBF by 20 min of blood withdrawal was similar. Spectral analysis was used to identify the nature of the oscillations in each variable. Before hemorrhage, a rhythm at ∼0.3 Hz was observed in RSNA, although not in RBF, whose spectrogram was composed mostly of lower-frequency (<0.25 Hz) components. The denervated group of rabbits had similar frequency spectrums for RBF before hemorrhage. RSNA played a role in dampening the effect of oscillations in arterial pressure on RBF as the transfer gain between mean arterial pressure (MAP) and RBF for frequencies >0.25 Hz was significantly less in intact than denervated rabbits (0.83 ± 0.12 vs. 1.19 ± 0.10 ml ⋅ min−1 ⋅ mmHg−1). Furthermore, the coherence between MAP and RBF was also significantly higher in denervated rabbits, suggesting tighter coupling between the two variables in the absence of RSNA. Before the onset of significant decreases in arterial pressure (up to 10 min), there was an increase in the strength of oscillations centered around 0.3 Hz in RSNA. These were accompanied by increases in the spectral power of RBF at the same frequency. As arterial pressure fell in both groups of animals, the dominant rhythm to emerge in RBF was centered between 0.15 and 0.20 Hz and was present in intact and denervated rabbits. It is speculated that this is myogenic in origin. We conclude that RSNA can induce oscillations in RBF at 0.3 Hz, plays a significant role in altering the effect of oscillations in arterial pressure on RBF, and mediates a proportion of renal vasoconstriction during hemorrhage in conscious rabbits.


1985 ◽  
Vol 249 (5) ◽  
pp. F680-F687 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Morita ◽  
S. F. Vatner

Effects of acute volume expansion with isotonic isoncotic 3% dextran in saline were examined on renal nerve activity (RNA), renal blood flow, vascular resistance, and sodium and water excretion in conscious dogs. In intact dogs, acute volume expansion increased mean arterial pressure 15 +/- 3 mmHg, left atrial pressure 5.5 +/- 0.6 mmHg, and decreased RNA 88 +/- 2%, whereas renal blood flow did not change and renal vascular resistance increased slightly. When renal perfusion pressure was maintained at control levels, volume expansion decreased RNA 87 +/- 2% and renal vascular resistance 15 +/- 4%. During the 80-min period after volume expansion, urine flow rate increased 0.66 +/- 0.13 ml/min and sodium excretion rose 3.89 +/- 0.54 mueq X min-1 X kg-1, whereas RNA remained depressed. Arterial baroreceptor denervation (ABD) did not diminish responses of RNA, renal blood flow, renal vascular resistance, or sodium and water excretion to volume expansion. After ABD plus bilateral cervical vagotomy, volume expansion did not decrease RNA, and diuretic and natriuretic responses were significantly attenuated (P less than 0.025). However, responses of renal blood flow to volume expansion were not altered significantly. In conscious dogs with renal denervation, responses of renal blood flow to volume expansion were not impaired, whereas diuretic and natriuretic responses were attenuated (P less than 0.025). Thus, in intact conscious dogs, vagally mediated reflex decreases in RNA induced by acute volume expansion exerted a significant effect on sodium and water excretion but little control of renal blood flow and renal vascular resistance.


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