ACCELERATED APPEARANCE OF DCA HYPERTENSION IN RATS TREATED WITH PITRESSIN¹

The importance of vasopressin in the development and maintenance of DOC-salt hypertension in the rat.

“…Thus, the present experiments in conjunction with the work of Friedman et al 11 and MShring et al' appear to establish that vasopressin is essential for the development and maintenance of hypertension in the unilaterally nephrectomized rat treated with DOC and salt.…”

“…We feel that we can rule out several possible explanations, other than a lack of vasopressin, for this failure, such as inadequate sodium intake, poor tolerance for the saline that replaced drinking water, or impaired adrenocortical function. Although, on the basis of our own experience, as well as that of others, 11 -1S it is difficult to induce rats with diabetes insipidus to drink salt solutions, we were able to achieve this. Salt consumption by the DI group on a body weight basis remained high throughout the experiment, exceeding that by the LE group in all weeks except the last 2 of the experiment.…”

“…A central role for vasopressin in the pathogenesis of DOC-salt hypertension was first suggested by Freidman et al 11 When unilaterally nephrectomized rats treated with DOC and salt were given large doses of Pitressin, the latent period before the onset of hypertension was shortened by 1 week, and blood pressure tended to be slightly higher in the vasopressin-treated group. When rats with surgically induced diabetes insipidus were unilaterally nephrectomized and treated with DOC and salt, blood pressure failed to rise during the 3-week period of observation; treatment with Pitressin did not restore the ability of these DI rats to become hypertensive.…”

“…In addition, the failure of the DI rats treated with vasopressin to become hypertensive may have been due to an inadequate dose of Pitressin, as these workers pointed out. 11 The possibility that vasopressin plays a major role in the pathogenesis of DOC-salt hypertension in rats is considerably strengthened by the recent report of M6hring et al, 8 who found a threefold elevation of the plasma vasopressin concentration in the benign form of this hypertension and a 10-fold elevation in the malignant phase. Furthermore, the I.V.…”

Central role for vasopressin in cardiovascular regulation and the pathogenesis of hypertension.

“…94 Recent studies suggest that AVP is a strong candidate for participation in the centrally located trigger mechanism. 95 " 98 A primary role for AVP in the pathogenesis of DOCA-salt hypertension was first suggested by Friedman et al, 95 who found that surgical ablation of the median eminence prevented the development of DOCA-salt hypertension, whereas administration of large doses of the peptide hastened its onset. Subsequently, elevations in plasma and urinary AVP levels were reported in DOCA-salt-treated rats in both early and chronic stages of hypertension.…”