AJP - Renal Physiology, Vol 250, Issue 3 559-F565, Copyright © 1986 by American Physiological Society
Effects of graded changes in reflex renal nerve activity on renal function
E. T. Beers, R. G. Carroll, D. B. Young and A. C. Guyton
The effects of reflexly produced graded increases in renal nerve activity
on excretion of sodium and potassium, urinary flow, glomerular filtration
rate (GFR), renal plasma flow (RPF), renin release, and renal venous
norepinephrine (NE) overflow were examined in anesthetized dogs. Renal
nerve activity was increased by carotid artery occlusion while renal
perfusion pressure was held constant. Linear correlation was determined by
plotting the percent change from control for each dependent variable vs.
the percent change in mean renal nerve activity (MRNA). The percent changes
from control for sodium excretion and urinary flow were negatively
correlated with percent change from control in MRNA (P less than 0.01), and
the percent change from control for renin release was positively correlated
with percent change from control in MRNA (P less than 0.05). NE overflow
was observed to increase as renal nerve activity increased. These results
indicate that physiologically elicited increases in MRNA from 10 to greater
than 100% are significantly correlated with changes in sodium excretion,
urine flow, and renin release with little or no measurable change in GFR,
RPF, or potassium excretion.
