| Abstract: | The vasoconstrictor effects of endothelin-1 were studied in perfused mesenteric vascular beds (MVB) and aortic rings of 4-week-old spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and age-matched Wistar Kyoto rats (WKY). Mean blood pressure (124×4 vs. 97×3 mmHg) and initial perfusion pressure in the MVBs (25×2 vs. 19.7×1.2) were significantly higher in SHR. Reactivity to endothelin-1 was increased in MVBs of SHR, as indicated by the maximum perfusion pressure obtained (223 × 8 vs 155 × 7 mmHg, p > 0.001), whereas there was no significant difference in sensitivity between the two strains (EC50 values: 50 × 12 and 80 × 15 pmol, respectively). By contrast, in aortic rings reactivity and sensitivity to endothelin-1 were similar in both strains, (EC50 s: 1.8 × 0.12 and 1.4 × 0.1 nM). Reactivity to norepinephrine was increased in MVBs, but reduced in aortic rings of SHR. The unchanged sensitivity to endothelin-1 and the unspecifically increased reactivity in the MVBs of SHR to endothelin-1 and norepinephrine indicate rather a change in vascular structure and not a functional abnormality. These results suggest that hyperreactivity to endothelin-1 may not be a primary hypertensive mechanism in genetic hypertension. |
