Abstract

To investigate the influence of the sympathetic nervous system on the renal prostaglandin and kallikrein systems we studied the effects of norepinephrine (NE) infusion and renal denervation on the urinary excretion of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and kallikrein in unanesthetized rats. Relative to sham controls, in rats infused with NE at 15 micrograms/h i.p. for 8 days. plasma NE was increased 10-fold, systolic blood pressure by 20-34 mmHg, and urinary PGE2 excretion twofold, but urinary kallikrein excretion was not altered. Norepinephrine infusion also produced a transient natriuresis and a slight reduction in body weight gain. Relative to values in sham-operated rats, bilateral renal denervation reduced catecholamine content of the kidneys to less than 10% of control 10 and 30 days after surgery, but had no effect on urinary excretion of either PGE2 or kallikrein. It is concluded that in unanesthetized rats a) renal kallikrein is not affected by either a sustained increase in plasma norepinephrine or by chronic renal artery denervation, b) basal renal PGE2 production is not regulated by basal renal nerve activity, and c) prolonged elevation of plasma norepinephrine causes, either directly or indirectly, a sustained induction of PGE2 production by the kidney.

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