Effects of dietary salt restriction on blood pressure and the renal vasoactive system in the congenitally bilateral hydronephrotic rat.

We examined the responses on blood pressure when the renal vasoactive system such as renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) and kallikrein-kinin system (KKS) was activated by dietary salt restriction in the congenitally bilateral hydronephrotic rat (BHN). In a low salt diet (LS)-normotensive and normal kidney control rats after 8 weeks from initiating dietary salt restriction, the plasma sodium concentration (PNa) was retained at a level similar to that in the normal diet (ND)-control rats, and plasma renin activity (PRA), plasma aldosterone concentration (PAC) and urinary kallikrein activity (UKA) were about 1.8-, 9.4- and 1.7-fold higher, respectively, than those in the ND-control rats. In addition, LS-control rats had a significantly (p < 0.001) high systolic blood pressure (163 ± 2.0 mm Hg) compared with that (136 ± 5.8) of ND-control rats. These results suggest that the activated renal vasoactive system acted for not only sodium retention but also for elevation of blood pressure in LS-control rats. In LS-BHN at week 8, PNa was also retained at a nearly normal level. However, the renal vasoactive system activation for sodium retention was higher than that of LS-control rats ; that is, increase of PRA, PAC and UKA were about 3.8-, 24.7- and 10.0-fold, respectively, than in ND-BHN. The higher activation of RAAS, nevertheless, does not affect blood pressure in BHN ; that is, both hypertension of BHN fed LS and ND developed similarly. These findings suggest that dietary salt restriction could markedly activate the renal vasoactive system for sodium retention without elevating blood pressure in BHN different from control rats.