Restriction of Drinking Water Abrogates Splanchnic Vasodilation and Portal Hypertension in Portal Vein-Ligated Rats

Abstract

Portal hypertension is associated with splanchnic vasodilation which is claimed responsible for the maintenance of chronically elevated portal pressure. Vasopressin analogues are used in the treatment of acute variceal bleeding, since they effectively reduce splanchnic blood flow and portal pressure. Dehydration stimulates the release of endogenous vasopressin release. Here we compared the effects of deprivation of drinking water for 18 h with those of vasopressin infusion on mesenteric hemodynamics in portal vein-ligated (PVL) and sham-operated (SHAM) rats. Blood flow in the superior mesenteric artery was measured with the ultrasonic transit time shift technique. Deprivation of drinking water had no hemodynamic effects in SHAM rats, but completely reversed the mesenteric hyperemia and portal hypertension in PVL rats to figures measured in SHAM rats, without altering blood pressure. Similarly, intravenous infusion of low doses of arginine vasopressin (1–10 pmol/min) selectively reduced mesenteric blood flow in PVL rats but had little effect in SHAM rats. These data suggest that control of water balance or aquaretic drugs might have beneficial effects on splanchnic hemodynamics and portal pressure in advanced liver disease, possibly by stimulating endogenous vasopressin release.

Diabetes Diminishes the Portal-Systemic Collateral Vascular Response to Vasopressin via Vasopressin Receptor and Gα Proteins Regulations in Cirrhotic Rats

“…The lower weight may be caused by dehydration related to diabetes and/or decreased adipose tissue. Adipose tissue elevates estrogen levels that cause nitric oxide (NO)-mediated vasodilatation [33], [34], while dehydration stimulates vasoconstriction via release of endogenous vasopressin [35]. Accordingly, the collateral vasocontractile response could be enhanced in STZ-injected BDL rats.…”

Metabolic responses to water deprivation in C57BL/6J mice using a proton nuclear magnetic resonance-based metabonomics approach

“…3,7 In the other hand, abstaining from water might also have benecial effects on body, for example, water deprivation stimulated the release of endogenous vasopressin which can be used for the treatment of acute variceal bleeding. 8 To survive the water deprivation, living organisms may regulate their molecular expression or concentration to response or adapt to the adverse environment. All living cells possess metabolic mechanisms that actively counteract the inuences of hydration changes that otherwise threaten the integrity of the cell.…”