Mechanics and Composition of Cerebral Arterioles in Renal and Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats

The purpose of this study was to examine effects of hypertension on mechanics of cerebral arterioles in nongenetic and genetic models of chronic hypertension. Pressure (servo null) and diameter were measured in pial arterioles of anesthetized renal hypertensive rats (one-kidney, one clip), uninephrectomized nonnotensive rats, spontaneously hypertensive rats, and nonnotensive Wistar-Kyoto rats. During maximal dilatation with EDTA, external diameter of pial arterioles at 70 mm Hg pial arteriolar pressure was not significantly different in renal hypertensive and nonnotensive rats (86±5 [mean±SEM] versus 84±4 μm) but was less in spontaneously hypertensive rats than in Wistar-Kyoto rats (81±3 versus 92± μm;p