Function of Renal Sympathetic Nerves

2013 ◽  
Vol 304 (8) ◽  
pp. R675-R682 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Mulder ◽  
Tomas Hökfelt ◽  
Mark M. Knuepfer ◽  
Ulla C. Kopp

Efferent renal sympathetic nerves reinnervate the kidney after renal denervation in animals and humans. Therefore, the long-term reduction in arterial pressure following renal denervation in drug-resistant hypertensive patients has been attributed to lack of afferent renal sensory reinnervation. However, afferent sensory reinnervation of any organ, including the kidney, is an understudied question. Therefore, we analyzed the time course of sympathetic and sensory reinnervation at multiple time points (1, 4, and 5 days and 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, and 12 wk) after renal denervation in normal Sprague-Dawley rats. Sympathetic and sensory innervation in the innervated and contralateral denervated kidney was determined as optical density (ImageJ) of the sympathetic and sensory nerves identified by immunohistochemistry using antibodies against markers for sympathetic nerves [neuropeptide Y (NPY) and tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)] and sensory nerves [substance P and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP)]. In denervated kidneys, the optical density of NPY-immunoreactive (ir) fibers in the renal cortex and substance P-ir fibers in the pelvic wall was 6, 39, and 100% and 8, 47, and 100%, respectively, of that in the contralateral innervated kidney at 4 days, 4 wk, and 12 wk after denervation. Linear regression analysis of the optical density of the ratio of the denervated/innervated kidney versus time yielded similar intercept and slope values for NPY-ir, TH-ir, substance P-ir, and CGRP-ir fibers (all R2 > 0.76). In conclusion, in normotensive rats, reinnervation of the renal sensory nerves occurs over the same time course as reinnervation of the renal sympathetic nerves, both being complete at 9 to 12 wk following renal denervation.


2003 ◽  
Vol 17 (6) ◽  
pp. 442-452 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian J MacNeil ◽  
Arno H Jansen ◽  
Arnold H Greenberg ◽  
Dwight M Nance

1998 ◽  
Vol 275 (1) ◽  
pp. H285-H291 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francine G. Smith ◽  
Isam Abu-Amarah

To investigate the role of renal sympathetic nerves in modulating cardiovascular and endocrine responses to hemorrhage early in life, we carried out three experiments in conscious, chronically instrumented lambs with intact renal nerves (intact; n = 8) and with bilateral renal denervation (denervated; n = 5). Measurements were made 1 h before and 1 h after 0, 10, and 20% hemorrhage. Blood pressure decreased transiently after 20% hemorrhage in intact lambs and returned to control levels. In denervated lambs, however, blood pressure remained decreased after 60 min. After 20% hemorrhage, heart rate increased from 170 ± 16 to 207 ± 18 beats/min in intact lambs but not in denervated lambs, in which basal heart rates were already elevated to 202 ± 21 beats/min. Despite an elevated plasma renin activity (PRA) measured in denervated (12.0 ± 6.4 ng ANG I ⋅ ml−1 ⋅ h−1) compared with intact lambs (4.0 ± 1.1 ng ANG I ⋅ ml−1 ⋅ h−1), the increase in PRA in response to 20% hemorrhage was similar in both groups. Plasma levels of arginine vasopressin increased from 11 ± 8 to 197 ± 246 pg/ml after 20% hemorrhage in intact lambs but remained unaltered in denervated lambs from baseline levels of 15 ± 10 pg/ml. These observations provide evidence that in the newborn, renal sympathetic nerves modulate cardiovascular and endocrine responses to hemorrhage.


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.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Wang ◽  
Zhaolei Jiang ◽  
Rongxin Lu ◽  
Hao Liu ◽  
Nan Ma ◽  
...  

Introduction. Catheter-based renal denervation (RDN) could reduce cardiac sympathetic nerve activity (SNA) and inhibit atrial fibrillation (AF). However, the reliability is uncertain, because the renal sympathetic nerves are mainly distributed in the adventitial surface of the renal artery. Objective. The aims of this study were to test the hypothesis that renal artery adventitial ablation (RAAA) definitely had the effects of RDN and to study the effects of RDN via renal artery adventitial cryoablation (RAAC) on AF and cardiac neural remodeling. Methods. Twenty beagle canines were randomly assigned to two groups: the left RDN group (LRDN, n=10), which underwent left RDN via RAAC; the Sham group (n=10). After 2 months of postoperative recovery, AF vulnerability, AF duration, and histological examination were performed in both groups. Results. Compared with the Sham group, left stellate ganglion (LSG) tissue fibrosis was increased in the LRDN group. LRDN significantly increased the percentage of TH-negative ganglionic cells and decreased the density of TH-positive nerves in the LSG (P<0.001). Also, the densities of TH-positive nerves and GAP43 immunoreactivity within the left atrium (LA) were significantly decreased in the LRDN group (P<0.05). After LA burst pacing, all 10 canines (100%) could be induced AF in the Sham group, but only 4 of 10 canines (40%) could be induced AF in the LRDN group (P=0.011). The percentage of LA burst stimulation with induced AF was 26.7% (8/30) in the LRDN group, which was significantly decreased compared with that of the Sham group (53.3%, 16/30) (P=0.035). In addition, AF duration was also significantly decreased in the LRDN group (13.3 ± 5.1 s) compared with that of the Sham group (20.3 ± 7.3 s, P=0.024). Conclusions. RDN via RAAC could cause cardiac neural remodeling and effectively inhibit AF inducibility and shorten AF duration. It may be useful in selecting therapeutic approaches for AF patients.


2005 ◽  
Vol 289 (3) ◽  
pp. R633-R641 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerald F. DiBona

Cannon equated the fluid matrix of the body with Bernard’s concept of the internal environment and emphasized the importance of “the safe-guarding of an effective fluid matrix.” He further emphasized the important role of the autonomic nervous system in the establishment and maintenance of homeostasis in the internal environment. This year’s Cannon Lecture discusses the important role of the renal sympathetic nerves to regulate various aspects of overall renal function and to serve as one of the major “self-regulatory agencies which operate to preserve the constancy of the fluid matrix.”


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