This study was designed to investigate the possible role of angiotensin and vasopressin in the maintenance of arterial blood pressure during acute blockade of the autonomic nervous system. Two groups of eight dogs each were anesthetized with pentobarbital sodium, and autonomic ganglia were blocked with hexamethonium (20 mg/kg). Thirty minutes later group 1 received the vasopressin antagonist 1-(beta-mercapto-beta, beta-cyclopentamethylene propionic acid),2-(O-methyl)tyrosine arginine vasopressin (10 micrograms/kg) followed after a 30-min interval by captopril (1 mg/kg). Group 2 received the same drugs, except the order of administration of vasopressin antagonist and captopril was reversed. Vasopressin antagonist during ganglionic blockade (group 2) produced a greater fall in blood pressure than did captopril during ganglionic blockade (group 1). These data indicate that vasopressin plays a greater pressor role than angiotensin in the acute response to ganglionic blockade. Additional studies were performed to determine if the autonomic nervous system alone can support the resting blood pressure in the anesthetized dog. Combined blockade of angiotensin and vasopressin without autonomic blockade produced a significant decrease in blood pressure, suggesting that the autonomic nervous system alone is not able to support the control blood pressure in the anesthetized dog.
