scholarly journals Genetic architecture of Wistar-Kyoto rat and spontaneously hypertensive rat substrains from different sources

2013 ◽  
Vol 45 (13) ◽  
pp. 528-538 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yanli Zhang-James ◽  
Frank A. Middleton ◽  
Stephen V. Faraone

The spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) has been widely used as a model for studies of hypertension and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. The inbred Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rat, derived from the same ancestral outbred Wistar rat as the SHR, are normotensive and have been used as the closest genetic control for the SHR, although the WKY has also been used as a model for depression. Notably, however, substantial behavioral and genetic differences among the WKY substrains, usually from the different vendors and breeders, have been observed. These differences have often been overlooked in prior studies, leading to inconsistent and even contradictory findings. The complicated breeding history of the SHR and WKY rats and the lack of a comprehensive understanding of the genetic background of different commercial substrains make the selection of control rats a daunting task, even for researchers who are mindful of their genetic heterogeneity. In this study, we examined the genetic relationship of 16 commonly used WKY and SHR rat substrains using genome-wide SNP genotyping data. Our results confirmed a large genetic divergence and complex relationships among the SHR and WKY substrains. This understanding, although incomplete without the genome sequence, provides useful guidance in selecting substrains and helps to interpret previous reports when the source of the animals was known. Moreover, we found two closely related, yet distinct WKY substrains that may provide novel opportunities in modeling psychiatric disorders.

2008 ◽  
Vol 295 (4) ◽  
pp. F1239-F1247 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alaa E. S. Abdel-Razik ◽  
Richard J. Balment ◽  
Nick Ashton

Urotensin II (UII) has been implicated widely in cardiovascular disease. The mechanism(s) through which it contributes to elevated blood pressure is unknown, but its emerging role as a regulator of mammalian renal function suggests that the kidney might be involved. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of UII on renal function in the spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR). UII infusion (6 pmol·min−1·100 g body wt−1) in anesthetized SHR and control Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats produced marked reductions in glomerular filtration rate (ΔGFR WKY, n = 7, −0.3 ± 0.1 vs. SHR, n = 7, −0.6 ± 0.1 ml·min−1·100 g body wt−1, P = 0.03), urine flow, and sodium excretion rates, which were greater in SHR by comparison with WKY rats. WKY rats also showed an increase in fractional excretion of sodium (ΔFENa; +0.6 ± 0.1%, P = 0.02) in contrast to SHR in which no such change was observed (ΔFENa −0.6 ± 0.2%). Blockade of the UII receptor (UT), and thus endogenous UII activity, with urantide evoked an increase in GFR which was greater in SHR (+0.3 ± 0.1) compared with WKY rats (+0.1 ± 0.1 ml·min−1·100 g body wt−1, P = 0.04) and was accompanied by a diuresis and natriuresis. UII and UT mRNA expression were greater in the renal medulla than the cortex of both strains; however, expression levels were up to threefold higher in SHR tissue. SHR are more sensitive than WKY to UII, which acts primarily to lower GFR thus favoring salt retention in this model of hypertension.


1987 ◽  
Vol 252 (3) ◽  
pp. R554-R561 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. N. Henley ◽  
A. Tucker

The mechanism by which chronic, moderate, hypobaric hypoxia attenuates systemic systolic blood pressure (SBP) in the spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) was investigated in a three-part study. In experiment 1, 10 wk of hypoxia (3,658 m altitude) commencing in 7-wk-old rats was partially effective in preventing the rise in SBP [hypoxic SHR (SHR-H) 154 mmHg vs. normoxic SHR (SHR-N) 180 mmHg; P less than 0.01]. When hypoxia was initiated in 5-wk-old SHR (experiments 2 and 3), protection against hypertension was nearly complete (experiment 2: SHR-H 122 mmHg vs. SHR-N 175 mmHg; P less than 0.001; experiment 3: 135 vs. 152 mmHg, respectively; P less than 0.05). Elevations in O2 consumption (VO2) and rectal temperature (Tre) in SHR vs. normotensive [Wistar-Kyoto (WKY)] rats provided evidence that the SHR is a hypermetabolic animal. Thyroid hormonal indices suggested that SHR changed from a low to high thyroid status at a time that rapid blood pressure elevation occurred; however, hypoxia did not influence thyroid status. Acute, significant decrements in VO2 and Tre in SHR-H (experiments 2 and 3) accompanied the attenuation of SBP by hypoxia, whereas large decrements in VO2 and SBP did not occur in hypoxic WKY. Timely administration of moderate hypoxia protects against the development of hypertension in the SHR. This protection may relate to a metabolic adaptation made by the hypoxic SHR.


2005 ◽  
Vol 288 (1) ◽  
pp. R276-R283 ◽  
Author(s):  
Delphine Behr-Roussel ◽  
Diane Gorny ◽  
Katell Mevel ◽  
Sandrine Compagnie ◽  
Patrick Kern ◽  
...  

Erectile dysfunction (ED) is another manifestation of vascular disease. We evaluated the natural history of ED in the spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) and the respective participation of associated pathophysiological modifications, i.e., endothelial dysfunction and tissue remodeling. SHR and their normotensive counterparts [Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKY)] of 6, 12, and 24 wk of age ( n = 12) were used to evaluate erectile function, erectile and aortic tissue reactivity, and remodeling. Erectile responses in SHR are reduced at all ages ( P < 0.001). In both aortic and erectile tissues of SHR and WKY, relaxations to ACh are altered progressively with age, although more markedly in SHR. They are decreased at 12 wk of age in erectile tissue of SHR compared with WKY (maximal relaxation: −19.2 ± 2.8% vs. −28.3 ± 3.9%, P < 0.001) but only at 24 wk of age in aortas (−47.9 ± 6.4% vs. −90.5 ± 2.9%, P < 0.001). Relaxations to sodium nitroprusside are unaltered in aortic rings of both strains but enhanced in erectile tissue of SHR at 12 wk of age. Major modifications in the distribution of collagen I, III, and V in SHR occur in both types of tissue and are detectable sooner in erectile tissue compared with aortic tissue. The onset of ED is detectable before the onset of hypertension in the SHR. Structural and functional alterations, while similar, occur earlier in erectile compared with vascular tissue. If confirmed in humans, ED could be an early warning sign for hypertension, and common therapeutic strategies targeting both ED and hypertension could be investigated.


1981 ◽  
Vol 61 (s7) ◽  
pp. 219s-221s ◽  
Author(s):  
J. P. Chalmers ◽  
P. R. C. Howe ◽  
Y. Wallmann ◽  
I. Tumuls

1. We have studied the number of phenylethanolamine-N-methyltransferase (PNMT)-containing nerve cells in the medulla and the activity of PNMT in the medulla, spinal cord and hypothalamus of the rat. 2. At 4 weeks of age there was an increase in the number of PNMT cells counted in the medulla of the spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR; 21%, P &lt; 0.01) and the stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR-SP; 22%, P &lt; 0.01) compared with the Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) control rat. 3. At 4 months of age there were no significant differences in the number of medullary PNMT cells in two normotensive strains (WKY and Fisher rats), two genetically hypertensive strains (SHR and SHR-SP) and in DOCA-salt hypertensive rats. 4. In four week old rats the activity of PNMT was increased by about 50% in the spinal cord and medulla of the SHR and SHR-SP compared with the WKY rats, and immunotitration experiments suggest that this is due to an increased concentration of enzyme. 5. At 4 months of age there were no increases in PNMT activity of either genetically hypertensive rats or DOCA-salt hypertensive rats.


1998 ◽  
Vol 275 (2) ◽  
pp. H703-H709 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. L. Han ◽  
M. K. Sim

The binding of125I-labeled [Sar1,Ile8]angiotensin II to the hypothalamic membranes of the normotensive Wistar-Kyoto rat (WKY) and the spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) was studied. Displacement experiments with four centrally active angiotensins, losartan, and PD-123319 confirm the known existence of angiotensin AT1 and AT2 receptors in the rat hypothalamus. The values of the inhibitory constants for angiotensin II and PD-123319 in the SHR were significantly lower than the corresponding values in the WKY, indicating the possible existence of high-affinity hypothalamic AT1 and AT2 receptors for the two ligands in the SHR. The angiotensin AT1receptor was further separated into a 5′-guanylyl imidodiphosphate-sensitive and -nonsensitive subtype, indicating that one of the subtypes is G protein coupled. The SHR has significantly higher numbers of measurable AT1-receptor subtypes as well as AT2 receptor subtypes. The former data support the findings of other investigators showing that the hypothalamus of the SHR expressed more AT1A and AT1B mRNAs than that of the normotensive rat. Des-Asp1-angiotensin I, which is known to attenuate the central pressor action of angiotensin II and angiotensin III, acts on both the AT1 and AT2 receptors, although it has a higher affinity for the AT1receptors. The overall increase in the number of AT1 and AT2 receptors in the SHR is in line with the contention that the brain of the hypertensive rat, compared with that of the WKY, has a hyperactive renin-angiotensin system.


2013 ◽  
Vol 305 (3) ◽  
pp. H344-H353 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathryn M. Spitler ◽  
Takayuki Matsumoto ◽  
R. Clinton Webb

A contributing factor to increased peripheral resistance seen during hypertension is an increased production of endothelium-derived contractile factors (EDCFs). The main EDCFs are vasoconstrictor prostanoids, metabolites of arachidonic acid (AA) produced by Ca2+-dependent cytosolic phospholipase A2 (cPLA2) following phosphorylation (at Ser505) mediated by extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK1/2) and cyclooxygenase (COX) activations. Although endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress has been shown to contribute to pathophysiological alterations in cardiovascular diseases, the relationship between ER stress and EDCF-mediated responses remains unclear. We tested the hypothesis that ER stress plays a role in EDCF-mediated responses via activation of the cPLA2/COX pathway in the aorta of the spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR). Male SHR and Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKY) were treated with ER stress inhibitor, tauroursodeoxycholic acid or 4-phenlybutyric acid (TUDCA or PBA, respectively, 100 mg·kg−1·day−1 ip) or PBS (control, 300 μl/day ip) for 1 wk. There was a decrease in systolic blood pressure in SHR treated with TUDCA or PBA compared with control SHR (176 ± 3 or 181 ± 5, respectively vs. 200 ± 2 mmHg). In the SHR, treatment with TUDCA or PBA normalized aortic (vs. control SHR) 1) contractions to acetylcholine (ACh), AA, and tert-butyl hydroperoxide, 2) ACh-stimulated releases of prostanoids (thromboxane A2, PGF2α, and prostacyclin), 3) expression of COX-1, 4) phosphorylation of cPLA2 and ERK1/2, and 5) production of H2O2. Our findings demonstrate a novel interplay between ER stress and EDCF-mediated responses in the aorta of the SHR. Moreover, ER stress inhibition normalizes such responses by suppressing the cPLA2/COX pathway.


1984 ◽  
Vol 246 (1) ◽  
pp. F96-F100 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. A. McCarron ◽  
D. H. Ellison ◽  
S. Anderson

Parathyroid hormone's cardiovascular effects were assessed in a model of experimental hypertension with known abnormalities of calcium metabolism. Mean arterial pressure (MAP) changes and serum ionized calcium responses were measured in the spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) and its normotensive control, the Wistar-Kyoto (WKY), following injections of synthetic human PTH 1-34. Six 22-wk-old SHR and six WKY were given intra-arterial serial injections (0.1-100 micrograms/kg) of hPTH 1-34. Both the SHR (P less than 0.001) and WKY (P less than 0.001) demonstrated log dose-dependent hypotensive responses that were maximal at 1 min, with recovery occurring between 15 and 30 min. The slopes, however, of the dose-response curves differed (P less than 0.01). The SHR experienced a greater maximal delta MAP [-93.7 +/- 2.4 (SHR) vs. -71.2 +/- 1.6 mmHg (WKY), P less than 0.01]. Furthermore, the duration of the hypotensive action of hPTH 1-34 was significantly longer (P less than 0.001) in the SHR. Even when corrected for base-line MAP the SHR demonstrated a significant (P = 0.025) enhancement of this vasodilator response at doses of 5 micrograms/kg and greater at time intervals between 3 and 9 min after injection. A transient decrease [2.25 +/- 0.10 (pre) vs. 2.17 +/- 0.11 meq/liter (1 min post), P less than 0.01] in serum ionized calcium occurred at 1 min. We conclude that hPTH 1-34 is a potent vasoactive peptide in both the normotensive WKY and the SHR. The greater maximal hypotensive response to hPTH 1-34 and the prolongation of this cardiovascular effect in the SHR may be an additional manifestation of this experimental animal's acknowledged abnormalities of cellular membrane calcium and phospholipid metabolism.


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