Sympathetic vascular tone in spontaneous hypertension of rats

Differences in sympathetic vascular tone between Wistar Kyoto rats (WKR) and stroke prone spontaneously hypertensive rats (spSHR) were determined by comparing the following parameters: sympathetic activity was evaluated by determinations of plasma catecholamines (noradrenaline, adrenaline, dopamine) combined with the measurement of the neuronal and extraneuronal uptake of noradrenaline using an isolated rat heart preparation. The responsiveness of vascular smooth muscle to vasopressor agents was tested in the isolated perfused hindlimb preparation. At the age of 5, 12, 15, and 28 weeks sympathetic nervous activity was significantly higher in spSHR than in WKR since plasma noradrenaline was elevated by almost 50% in the presence of an unaltered activity of the uptake mechanisms. The responsiveness of vascular smooth muscle to noradrenaline was markedly enhanced in spSHR. Besides increased maximal vasoconstriction in response to BaCl₂ (20 mmol/l) after potassium chloride depolarization or supramaximal doses of noradrenaline (10^-3 mol/l), a supersensitivity of vascular smooth muscle to noradrenaline could also be detected in spSHR (age 5 weeks). The threshold dose and the ED₅₀ were reduced by 25% in spSHR in response to noradrenaline infusions. No changes in threshold or ED₅₀ were found in response to potassium chloride depolarization. The stimulated sympathetic activity in spSHR and the increased responsiveness of resistance vessels to noradrenaline, both contribute to the rise in sympathetic vascular tone. The finding of an increased sympathetic vascular tone in very early stages of hypertension suggest that this factor, producing a primary increase in total peripheral resistance underlies the development of high blood pressure in spSHR.