Open-loop analysis on sympathetically mediated arterial pressure and urine output responses in spontaneously hypertensive rats: effect of renal denervation

Primary acute sympathetic activation (PASA) causes a subsequent arterial pressure (AP) elevation. In this case, an antidiuretic effect via the renal innervation and pressure diuresis can act antagonistically on the kidneys. We examined the effect of PASA on urine output in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) 4–7 days after unilateral renal denervation (RDN) (n = 9). The slope of the plot of urine flow versus AP was positive (0.120 ± 0.031μl min−1 kg−1 mmHg−1) on the intact side, but it was less than 1/3 of the slope observed previously in normotensive Wistar–Kyoto rats (WKY). RDN did not normalize the slope of urine flow versus AP (0.179 ± 0.025μl min−1 kg−1 mmHg−1, P = 0.098 versus the intact side). The urine flow at the operating point of the AP tended to be greater on the denervated than the intact side (29.0±1.8 vs. 25.3 ± 1.9μl min−1 kg−1, P = 0.055). The percent increase (17.2 ± 7.2%) was not different from that observed previously in WKY. Although high-resting sympathetic nerve activity is prerequisite for maintaining hypertension in SHR, the effect of sympathetic innervation on the urine output function was not greater than that in WKY.