Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “SALTS”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 937 records · Page 52Linked to original sources

Alpha-adducin polymorphism, salt sensitivity, nitric oxide excretion, and cardiovascular risk factors in normotensive Hispanics.

BACKGROUND: Genetic and environmental factors determine the blood pressure (BP) response to changes in salt intake. Mutations in the alpha-adducin gene may be associated with hypertension and salt-sensitive hypertension. We investigated whether one alpha-adducin polymorphism, the Gly460Trp (G/T) variant, was associated with salt sensitivity, nitric oxide (NO) production; and cardiovascular risk factors in healthy adult normotensive Venezuelans. METHODS AND RESULTS: Subjects (n = 126) were screened for salt sensitivity. The alpha-Adducin polymorphism was tested in salt-sensitive (SS) and salt-resistant (SR) subjects. The G/T and G/G (wild gene) groups had similar BP levels. The G/T subjects had higher LDL-cholesterol (P =.01) and postload glucose AUC (P =.03) than G/G individuals. Genotype frequencies were not associated with BP or salt sensitivity (G/G, 38.1% SS and 61.9% SR vs G/T, 40.7% SS and 59.3% SR). Shifting from high salt to low salt diet produced comparable reductions in systolic BP and diastolic BP in G/T and G/G groups. The G/G and G/T groups excreted similar amounts of sodium on high and low salt diets. The SR subjects carrying the wild or the mutated gene showed no changes in NO metabolite excretion at different levels of salt intake. In SS subjects, the level of NO metabolite excretion was highly dependent on salt intake. A combination of SS and 460Trp mutation enhanced the sodium-dependent modulation of NO production. CONCLUSIONS: In normotensive Venezuelans, the alpha-adducin G/T polymorphism was not associated with BP, salt sensitivity, or with sodium excretion during sodium loading or restriction. G/T was associated with increased LDL-cholesterol and postload glucose levels. In SS, G/T was associated with greater salt-dependent modulation of NO excretion. However, this larger increase in NO excretion was not associated with a larger decrease in BP.

Adult↗

Increased salt-sensitivity in endothelial nitric oxide synthase-knockout mice.

BACKGROUND: Although impaired nitric oxide production contributes importantly to salt-sensitivity, the role of the endothelial isoform of nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) has received little attention. In the present study we compared the effects of a high-salt diet on the blood pressure response of eNOS knockout (eNOS-/-) and control (eNOS+/+) mice. METHODS: Mean arterial pressure (MAP), heart rate, pulse pressure, and activity levels were recorded by telemetry in mice fed a regular-salt diet (0.7% NaCl) followed by 6 weeks on either a high-salt (8% NaCl) or regular-salt diet. RESULTS: The eNOS-/- mice exhibited a 15% increase in MAP and a 2- to 2.5-fold increase in salt-sensitivity relative to the control strain. Salt-induced increases in MAP were well sustained in eNOS-/-, whereas in eNOS+/+ the initial increase was biphasic. The effects of salt on MAP were particularly pronounced during locomotor activity, during the dark phase, and at the peak levels of MAP recorded over the course of the day. The high-salt diet also led to a transient increase in the proportion of time spent active. Levels of heart rate and pulse pressure were relatively unaffected by the high-salt diet. CONCLUSION: The eNOS-/- mice exhibit an increased blood pressure response to a high-salt diet. This finding suggests that eNOS normally provides an important contribution to the body's adaptation to a salt load and that reduced production of NO by eNOS may promote salt-sensitivity and salt-induced hypertension.

Animals↗

Chromium(VI) biosorption by dried Rhizopus arrhizus: effect of salt (NaCl) concentration on equilibrium and kinetic parameters.

Some industrial wastewaters contain high quantities of salts besides heavy metal ions. The presence of salt ions leads to high ionic strength, which may significantly affect the performance of the biosorption process so the effect of salts on the biosorption of heavy metal ions should be investigated. In this study the biosorption of chromium(VI) from saline solutions on dried Rhizopus arrhizus was studied as a function of pH, initial chromium(VI) and salt (NaCl) concentrations in a batch system. The biosorption capacity of R. arrhizus strongly depended on solution pH and maximum chromium(VI) sorption capacity of sorbent was obtained at pH 2.0 both in the absence and in the presence of increasing concentrations of salt. Chromium(VI)-salt biosorption studies were performed at this pH value. Equilibrium uptakes of chromium(VI) increased with increasing chromium(VI) concentration up to 250mgl(-1) and decreased considerably by the presence of increasing concentrations of salt. At 100mgl(-1), initial chromium(VI) concentration, dried R. arrhizus biosorbed 78.0mgg(-1) of chromium(VI) in 72h without salt medium. When salt concentration was raised to 50gl(-1), this value dropped to 64.0mgg(-1) of chromium(VI) at the same conditions resulting in 17.9% decrease of biosorption capacity. The equilibrium sorption data were analysed by using Freundlich, Langmuir, Redlich-Peterson and Langmuir-Freundlich (Sips), the two and three parameters adsorption models, using non-linear regression technique and isotherm constants were evaluated depending on salt concentration. The Langmuir-Freundlich (Sips) was the best suitable adsorption model for describing the biosorption of chromium(VI) individually and in salt-containing medium. Pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order and saturation type kinetic models described the biosorption kinetics accurately at all chromium(VI) concentrations in the absence and in the presence of changing concentrations of salt. Isotherm and saturation type kinetic constants varied due to the level of salt were expressed as a function of initial salt concentration.

Adsorption↗

Evaluation of the aetiological role of dietary salt exposure in gastric and other cancers in humans.

The findings in laboratory and epidemiological studies relevant to the assessment of salt for carcinogenic potential are reviewed. Associations between the high consumption of certain highly salted foodstuffs, particularly in some oriental countries, and increased risk of cancer of the stomach do not incriminate salt per se. Some highly spiced foods contain potent genotoxic carcinogens, irrespective of whether they also contain salt. There is evidence in laboratory animals that high concentrations of salt may increase the incidence of gastric cancer caused by such carcinogens. This may well be attributable to a marked and sustained regenerative response in the gastric mucosa of laboratory animals chronically exposed to the cytotoxicity of hyperosmolar concentrations of salt, such a mitogenic response favouring the progression towards neoplasia. However, there is no laboratory evidence whatsoever to indicate that salt per se is a carcinogen for any site in the body; neither is there any reliable epidemiological evidence to indicate that dietary salt affects the incidence of gastric or other cancers. A particular problem in the interpretation of epidemiological studies is that the consumption of diets containing highly salted, spicy foods is often associated with low intakes of fruit and green vegetables, which contain cancer-protective antioxidants. In Western countries the incidence of cancer of the stomach has been falling for some 50 years. The consensus view is that this fall is attributable to improved food hygiene and increasingly available facilities for refrigeration. There are no grounds for supposing that the fall is attributable to a decreasing intake of salt. A high dietary salt intake does not necessarily entail exposure to salt in concentrations high enough to damage the gastric mucosa. The typical Western diet would not be expected to provide such high salt concentrations. It is concluded that there are no grounds for believing that a reduction in the average daily salt intake in the Western diet would have any effect on the risk of developing any form of cancer.

Animals↗

Plasma-renin response to isotonic volume contraction in young salt-sensitive normotensive men.

Salt-sensitive persons have lower plasma renin activity than salt-resistant persons and their plasma renin activity increases less with a low sodium diet or volume depletion, compared to salt-resistant individuals. However, the time course of the renin response to acute volume contraction has not been studied in humans. Therefore, we designed an acute study in salt-sensitive and salt-resistant normotensive volunteers, in which we examined the renin response to isotonic volume contraction. Twenty-four previously characterized salt-resistant (n = 13) and salt-sensitive (n = 11) persons were placed on a high salt diet containing 280 mmol NaCl/day for 3 days. After an overnight stay, volume depletion (total, 300 mmol Na) was induced by furosemide infusion. Free water deficits were replaced by 5% isotonic glucose infusion. Blood was obtained for electrolytes, plasma renin activity, and plasma aldosterone concentration. Blood pressure (BP) and heart rate were monitored during the experiment. Intravascular volume depletion resulted in a progressive increase in plasma renin activity that was both steeper and higher in salt-resistant than in the salt-sensitive subjects (P < .001). There was a slight increase in BP in response to volume contraction in both groups. Although heart rate did not change in salt-sensitive persons, it increased significantly (P < .001) in the salt-resistant group. These findings point to an intrinsic difference in the regulation of renin release between salt-sensitive and salt-resistant subjects that may account for the different BP responses to changes in dietary sodium intake.

Adult↗

Plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations are inversely associated with blood pressure of Dahl salt-sensitive rats.

Dietary salt is a contributing factor to the development of hypertension in individuals who are salt-sensitive. The vitamin D endocrine system has been reported to modulate vascular structure and function. Since elderly hypertensive females with low plasma renin activity, typical of salt-sensitivity, had significantly lower 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations compared with normotensive elderly and young females, we have used Dahl salt-sensitive and salt-resistant rats fed high (80 g/kg diet) and low (3 g/kg diet) salt diets as models to examine the relationship between salt-sensitivity and 25-hydroxyvitamin D, the precursor of the hormonal form of vitamin D, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D. Plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations of salt-resistant rats were unaffected by a high salt diet, but plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations of salt-sensitive rats were significantly reduced within three weeks to lower than 25%. There was a negative association between plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations of salt-sensitive rats and the number of days that the rats were fed a high salt diet (r = -0.98, P < 0.02) and a positive association between blood pressure and the number of days that the rats were fed a high salt diet (r = 0.97, P < 0.05). An inverse relationship was found between plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations and blood pressure (r = -0.99, P < 0.01). Spontaneously hypertensive rats did not have low plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations, suggesting that reduction of plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration might be specific to salt-induced hypertension.

Animals↗

Effect of L-arginine on systemic and renal haemodynamics in salt-sensitive patients with essential hypertension.

In response to a high sodium (Na+) intake, salt-sensitive patients with hypertension retain more Na+ and manifest a greater rise in arterial pressure than salt-resistant patients. Because there is limited information regarding the role of nitric oxide (NO) in salt-sensitivity we examined the effects of L-arginine (500 mg/kg, i.v. for 30 min) on mean arterial pressure and renal haemodynamics in 21 hypertensive and five normotensive African-Americans. At the end of L-arginine infusion mean arterial pressure fell more in salt-sensitive (-11.5 +/- 2.5) than in salt-resistant (-3.7 +/- 1.5 mm Hg) and control subjects (-3.2 +/- 3.8 mm Hg). At the end of L-arginine infusion effective renal plasma flow (ERPF) increased more (P < 0.05) in controls (+108 +/- 13.9 ml/min/1.73 m2) than in salt-resistant (+55 +/- 16.0 ml/min/1.73 m2) and salt-sensitive patients (+22 +/- 21.5 ml/min/1.73 m2). This study has shown that salt-sensitive African-Americans manifest different systemic and renal haemodynamic responses to L-arginine than salt-resistant patients and controls. The fall in mean blood pressure following L-arginine was greater in salt-sensitive than in salt-resistant patients and controls, whereas the increase in ERPF was reduced in salt-sensitive compared to salt-resistant and normal subjects. The data are in keeping with the notion that a defect in NO production may participate to the genesis of blood pressure sensitivity to salt.

Adult↗

Salt sensitivity and insulin resistance in normotensives.

Among hypertensive patients salt sensitivity and insulin resistance are commonly observed together. We investigated if a causal relationship already exists in young normotensive adults. With a standardized dietary regimen we determined salt sensitivity in 35 male volunteers by measuring diastolic blood pressure (24-hours-RR-recording). Insulin resistance was tested using hyperinsulinaemic-euglycaemic-clamp-technique by de Fronzo after a freely chosen diet, after 7 days of salt loading (260 mmol/d) and after 7 days of salt restriction (60 mmol/d). Data from euglycaemic-clamp technique were available from 27 subjects. 18 of them (67%) could be characterized as salt resistant; 9 persons (33%) were salt sensitive. Glucose infusion rate, mean glucose and insulin concentrations were measured in plasma, metabolic clearance rate (MCR) and indices of insulin sensitivity (ISI) were calculated. The results of MCR and ISI show large interindividual variances. There were no differences between the salt sensitive and salt resistant group regarding the mean insulin concentrations and also the mean glucose uptake in the steady state clamp period and also the calculated MCR and ISI. Comparing the periods of different salt intake, there were no differences between salt loading and salt restriction. Whereas salt sensitivity can already be shown in the normotensive state, with this experimental design a changed insulin sensitivity is not detectable. This supports the idea, that insulin resistance is not causally linked with salt sensitivity. It may be a secondary phenomenon of salt induced hypertension.

Adult↗

The altered balance between sympathetic nervous system and nitric oxide in salt hypertensive Dahl rats: ontogenetic and F2 hybrid studies.

OBJECTIVE: We have demonstrated earlier that the nitric oxide (NO) system is not able to counterbalance effectively the hyperactivity of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) in salt hypertension of young Dahl rats in which augmented superoxide anion formation lowers NO bioavailability. The aim of the present study was to determine whether SNS hyperactivity and/or relative NO deficiency are also present in salt hypertension elicited in adult Dahl rats, and whether they are associated with blood pressure (BP) in the F2 population of Dahl rats. DESIGN AND METHODS: The contribution of major vasoactive systems [renin-angiotensin system (RAS), SNS and NO] and superoxide anions to BP maintenance was studied in SS/Jr rats in which salt hypertension was induced either in adulthood or in youth (8% NaCl diet from the age of 12 or 4 weeks). The contribution of particular vasoactive systems was also investigated in 122 young salt-loaded F2hybrids [derived from salt-sensitive (SS/Jr) and salt-resistant (SR/Jr) Dahl rats] which were fed a high-salt diet (8% NaCl) for 6 weeks after weaning. Mean arterial pressure (MAP) was measured in conscious animals subjected to acute consecutive blockade of RAS (captopril 10 mg/kg i.v.), SNS (pentolinium 5 mg/kg i.v.) and NO synthase (l-NAME 30 mg/kg i.v.). RESULTS: Dahl rats with salt hypertension induced in adulthood were also characterized by enhanced pentolinium-induced BP fall (DeltaMAPpento), but their residual BP (recorded after the blockade of both RAS and SNS) was unaltered, in contrast to its elevation seen in young salt-hypertensive rats. The BP rise after NO synthase inhibition by l-NAME (DeltaMAPL-NAME), which was substantially greater in adult than in young hypertensive rats, was not enhanced by superoxide scavenging with tempol in adult hypertensive animals, in which this drug elicited a moderate BP reduction only. Basal MAP of young salt-loaded F2 hybrids was positively associated not only with DeltaMAPpento (P < 0.0001) and residual BP (P < 0.001) but also with DeltaMAPL-NAME (P < 0.001). The slope of the relationship between basal BP and pentolinium-induced BP changes was steeper than that between basal BP and BP changes elicited by l-NAME. The positive correlation of basal BP with DeltaMAPpento/DeltaMAPL-NAME ratio (P < 0.01) indicates that an altered balance between sympathetic vasoconstriction and NO-dependent vasodilation was associated with high blood pressure, even in the F2 population of Dahl rats. CONCLUSIONS: A comparison of young and adult salt-hypertensive Dahl rats stressed the importance of increased residual BP and relative NO deficiency for the severity of hypertension, because these two alterations were absent in a less-pronounced form of salt hypertension elicited in adulthood. The findings obtained in our young salt-loaded F2 population also confirm the major importance of both sympathetic hyperactivity and relative NO deficiency for the maintenance of salt hypertension in Dahl rats.

Aging↗

High-fat diet prevents cardiac hypertrophy and improves contractile function in the hypertensive dahl salt-sensitive rat.

1. The role that dietary lipid and plasma fatty acid concentration play in the development of cardiac hypertrophy in response to hypertension is not clear. 2. In the present study, we treated Dahl salt-sensitive rats with either normal chow (NC), normal chow with salt added (NC + salt) or a diet high in long-chain saturated fatty acids with added salt (HFD + salt). Cardiac function was assessed by echocardiography and left ventricular (LV) catheterization. 3. The HFD + salt group had significantly higher plasma free fatty acid concentrations and myocardial triglyceride content compared with the NC + salt group, but did not upregulate the activity of the fatty acid oxidation enzyme medium chain acyl-coenzyme A dehydrogenase. Systolic blood pressure was elevated to a similar extent in the NC + salt and HFD + salt groups compared with the NC group. Although LV mass was increased in the NC + salt group compared with the NC group, LV mass in the HFD + salt group did not differ from that of the NC group and was significantly lower than that in the NC + salt group. 4. There was no evidence of cardiac dysfunction in the NC + salt group compared with the NC group; however, high fat feeding significantly increased LV contractile performance (e.g. increased cardiac output and peak dP/dt). 5. In conclusion, the HFD + salt diet prevented the hypertrophic response to hypertension and improved the contractile performance of the heart. It remains to be determined whether preventing cardiac hypertrophic adaptations would be deleterious to the heart if the hypertensive stress is maintained long term.

Animals↗

Effects of nicotine and dietary salt on a learned blood pressure response in Dahl-S rats.

We examined the effects of chronic nicotine exposure and dietary salt on the arterial blood pressure (BP) changes learned in response to an acute behavioral stress in the Dahl salt-sensitive rat. Four groups were tested: low salt + vehicle; low salt + nicotine; high salt + vehicle; and high salt + nicotine. Rats were fed a low-salt (0.08% NaCl) or a high-salt (8% NaCl) diet for 4 wk; 2.4 mg. kg(-1). day(-1) nicotine or vehicle was given via an implanted osmotic minipump for the last 2 wk. All rats were conditioned by following one tone (CS+) with a 0.5-s tail shock; another tone (CS-) was never followed by shock. CS+ in low salt + vehicle and high salt + vehicle-treated rats evoked an initial arterial BP increase (C(1)), a component of the startle response, and an ensuing, smaller, but more sustained, pressor response (C(2)), which is acquired with training. In these rats, both C(1) and C(2) evoked by CS- were significantly smaller than those to CS+, demonstrating that these groups discriminated between the two tests. Conversely, although the low salt + nicotine-treated rats had both the C(1) and C(2) components of the conditional arterial pressure response, they did not discriminate between CS+ and CS-. Finally, the high salt + nicotine group failed to both discriminate between tones and acquire (i.e., learn) the C(2) response. The unconditional response to shock did not differ between groups. We conclude that combined exposure to high salt and to nicotine inhibits the salt-sensitive animal's acquisition of a learned conditional BP response, perhaps because nicotine acts preferentially on those central processes required for associative learning versus those involved in orientating to external stimuli.

Animals↗

Hemodynamic studies in DOCA-salt hypertensive rats after opening of an arteriovenous fistula.

We determined the cardiovascular responses in normal and deoxycorticosterone acetate (DOCA)-salt hypertensive rats with reduced total peripheral resistance due to an arteriovenous (a-v) fistula. Animals were divided into four groups: control, fistula, DOCA-salt, and DOCA-salt fistula. The fistula was made by anastomosing the aorta and vena cava below the renal arteries. Four weeks after the creation of the fistula both DOCA-salt and DOCA-salt fistula animals received DOCA and salt for 6-8 wk. At the end of 10-12 wk we measured mean arterial pressure, cardiac output, tissue flows, and right atrial pressure. Flow measurements using radioactive microspheres were made in anesthetized animals. Cardiac index (CI) was 202% higher in the fistula group than in the control animals and 165% higher in the DOCA-salt fistula than in the DOCA-salt animals. There was no difference in cardiac output between the control and DOCA-salt animals. The increase in cardiac output was due to the fistula flow as evidenced by a significant increase in the number of microspheres in the lung. Mean arterial pressure was 115 +/- 4 mmHg (control) and 108 +/- 5 mmHg (fistula) in non-DOCA rats but increased in both DOCA groups, 159 +/- 3 mmHg (DOCA-salt) and 145 +/- 5 mmHg (DOCA-salt fistula). Right atrial pressure was increased above control in both fistula animals but was normal in DOCA-salt animals. Total peripheral resistance (TPR) was higher than control in DOCA-salt animals, but TPR in both the fistula and DOCA-salt fistula animals was lower than control.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗

Podocyte injury underlies the glomerulopathy of Dahl salt-hypertensive rats and is reversed by aldosterone blocker.

Recent clinical studies implicate proteinuria as a key prognostic factor for renal and cardiovascular complications in hypertensives. The pathogenesis of proteinuria in hypertension is, however, poorly elucidated. Podocytes constitute the final filtration barrier in the glomerulus, and their dysfunction may play a pivotal role in proteinuria. In the present study, we examined the involvement of podocyte injury in Dahl salt-hypertensive rats, an animal model prone to hypertensive glomerulosclerosis, and explored the effects of inhibition of aldosterone. Four-week-old Dahl salt-resistant and salt-sensitive rats were fed a 0.3% or 8.0% NaCl diet. Some salt-loaded Dahl salt-sensitive rats were treated with a selective aldosterone blocker eplerenone (1.25 mg/g diet) or hydralazine (0.5 mmol/L). After 6 weeks, salt-loaded Dahl salt-sensitive rats developed severe hypertension, proteinuria, and glomerulosclerosis. Immunostaining for nephrin, a constituent of slit diaphragm, was attenuated, whereas expressions of damaged podocyte markers desmin and B7-1 were upregulated in the glomeruli of salt-loaded Dahl salt-sensitive rats. Electron microscopic analysis revealed podocyte foot process effacement. Podocytes were already impaired at as early as 2 weeks of salt loading in Dahl salt-sensitive rats, when proteinuria was modestly increased. Both eplerenone and hydralazine partially reduced systemic blood pressure as measured by indirect and direct methods in salt-loaded Dahl salt-sensitive rats, but only eplerenone dramatically improved podocyte damage and retarded the progression of proteinuria and glomerulosclerosis. Our findings suggest that podocyte injury underlies the glomerulopathy of Dahl salt-hypertensive rats and that inhibition of aldosterone by eplerenone is protective against podocyte damage, proteinuria, and glomerulosclerosis in this hypertensive model.

Animals↗

Rapid baroreceptor resetting in Dahl salt-sensitive rats.

Dahl salt-sensitive rats rapidly become hypertensive when exposed to a high salt diet, but Dahl salt-resistant rats maintain normal blood pressure on a high salt diet. A defect in baroreceptor afferents is thought to play a key role in the low sensitivity of baroreceptor reflexes in Dahl salt-sensitive rats even in the prehypertensive stage during low salt treatment. In the present study, we tested whether differences in rapid resetting ability might contribute to differences in baroreceptor function in Dahl rats. Four groups of rats were tested: salt-sensitive and salt-resistant rats on low salt and high salt diets (0.15% and 8.0% NaCl). We compared the rapidly resetting responses of baroreceptors from each group using an in vitro preparation. Rapid resetting was assessed for each aortic baroreceptor (n = 46) by linear fit of the relation of pressure threshold and conditioning mean arterial pressure. Each group had a wide range of resetting ratios (the slope of the resetting relation). Despite higher initial pressure thresholds in salt-sensitive rats on a high salt diet, resetting ratios among the four groups were similar. Thus, the ability of Dahl salt-sensitive baroreceptors to rapidly reset is preserved, despite high dietary salt and a genetic predisposition to dysfunction. The present findings in Dahl rats reinforce the results of recent studies of rapid resetting during spontaneous and renal hypertension, which suggests that the rapid resetting process is remarkably resistant to factors that compromise baroreceptor function.

Animals↗

Divergent hemodynamic and hormonal responses to varying salt intake in normotensive subjects.

Blood pressure responses to 1 week of low-salt (20 mmol sodium/d) and high-salt (300 mmol sodium/d) intake were investigated in a single-blind randomized study in 163 white, nonobese normotensive subjects (65 women and 98 men; mean age, 38 +/- 1.2 years). The individuals were classified as salt sensitive when mean arterial blood pressure rose by at least 5 mm Hg during high-salt intake, as salt resistant when mean arterial blood pressure changed by less than 5 mm Hg, and as "counterregulator" when mean arterial blood pressure fell by at least 5 mm Hg during the high-salt diet. Reexamination of 31 subjects showed that this approach to the testing of salt sensitivity was reliable and reproducible. Thirty subjects (18.4%) were classified as salt sensitive, 108 (66.3%) as salt resistant, and 25 (15.3%) as counterregulators. Multiple regression analysis revealed that age, body weight, and family history of hypertension contributed significantly to the change in blood pressure after the diets. Salt sensitivity was more frequent in older subjects and in those with a positive family history of hypertension. An increase in blood pressure after salt restriction was more likely in younger individuals and in those with a negative family history of hypertension. Plasma renin activity and plasma aldosterone concentrations were lower in salt-sensitive compared with salt-resistant and counterregulating subjects. The rise in plasma renin activity during salt restriction was most pronounced in counterregulating subjects. Plasma norepinephrine concentrations were not different among the groups.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗

Nitric oxide synthase isoform activities in kidney of Dahl salt-sensitive rats.

An abnormal L-arginine-nitric oxide axis has been suggested to be relevant to the genesis of salt-sensitive hypertension. In the present study we investigated the activities of three isoforms of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) in the kidney of Dahl salt-sensitive and salt-resistant rats. Five-week-old Dahl Iwai salt-sensitive (n = 9) and salt-resistant (n = 10) rats were maintained on a high salt diet (4% sodium chloride) for 4 weeks. We measured calcium-dependent and calcium-independent NOS activities in each particulate and soluble fraction of kidney by conversion of L-[3H]arginine to L-[3H]citrulline. Systolic blood pressure was elevated significantly (P < .001) in salt-sensitive but not salt-resistant rats. Calcium-dependent NOS activity in the soluble fraction was significantly lower in salt-sensitive rats than in salt-resistant rats (25.8 +/- 9.0 versus 48.2 +/- 19.2 disintegrations per microgram protein, respectively; P < .01). There were no differences in calcium-dependent NOS activity in the particulate fraction and calcium-independent NOS activity in the soluble fraction between groups. Renal norepinephrine content was lower in salt-sensitive rats than in salt-resistant rats (P < .05) and was positively correlated with calcium-dependent NOS activity in the soluble fraction (P < .01). Although no differences in endothelial and inducible-type NOS activity were observed a significant reduction in calcium-dependent NOS activity in the soluble fraction of the kidney of salt-sensitive rats suggests that the decreased neural-type NOS activity may in part be involved in the mechanism of salt-sensitive hypertension, possibly through alterations in renal sympathetic nervous activity and sodium handling.

Animals↗

Heart rate and blood pressure variabilities in salt-sensitive hypertension.

In salt-sensitive hypertension, a high sodium intake causes plasma catecholamines to rise and pulmonary baroreceptor plasticity to fall. In salt-sensitive and salt-resistant hypertensive subjects during low and high sodium intakes, we studied autonomic nervous system activity by power spectral analysis of heart rate and arterial pressure variabilities and baroreceptor sensitivity. In all subjects, high sodium intake significantly enhanced the low-frequency power of heart rate and arterial pressures at rest and after sympathetic stress. It also increased heart rate and arterial pressure variabilities. During high sodium intake, salt-sensitive hypertensive subjects had significantly higher low-frequency powers of systolic arterial pressure (7.5 mm Hg2, P < .05) and of heart rate at rest (59.2 +/- 2.4 normalized units [NU], P < .001) than salt-resistant subjects (6.6 +/- 0.3 mm Hg2, 55.0 +/- 3.2 NU) and normotensive control subjects (5.1 +/- 0.5 mm Hg2, 41.6 +/- 2.9 NU). In salt-sensitive subjects, low sodium intake significantly reduced low-frequency normalized units (P < .001) and the ratio of low- to high-power frequency (P < .001). High-sodium intake significantly increased baroreflex sensitivity in control subjects (from 10.0 +/- 0.7 to 17.5 +/- 0.7 ms/mm Hg, P < .001) and salt-resistant subjects (from 6.9 +/- 0.7 to 13.9 +/- 0.9, P < .05) but not in salt-sensitive subjects (7.4 +/- 0.3 to 7.9 +/- 0.4). In conclusion, a high sodium intake markedly enhances cardiac sympathetic activity in salt-sensitive and salt-resistant hypertension. In contrast, although reduced sodium intake lowers arterial pressure and sympathetic activity, it does so only in salt-sensitive subjects. Hence, in salt-resistant subjects, neither arterial pressure nor sympathetic activity depends on salt intake. During a high sodium intake in normotensive subjects and salt-resistant hypertensive subjects, increased sympathetic activity is probably compensated by enhanced baroreflex sensitivity.

Blood Pressure↗

Role of natriuretic peptide receptor type C in Dahl salt-sensitive hypertensive rats.

The natriuretic peptide system is suggested to be involved in the pathogenesis of salt-sensitive hypertension; a recent report indicated that disruption of the atrial natriuretic peptide precursor gene caused salt-sensitive hypertension. However, natriuretic peptide receptor (NPR)-A knockout mice did not show enhanced salt sensitivity of blood pressure. The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of NPR-C, the other receptor for atrial natriuretic peptide, in increased salt sensitivity of blood pressure. Dahl salt-sensitive (DS) and salt-resistant (DR) rats were placed on a 0.3% or 8% NaCl diet for 4 weeks. Blood pressure was elevated by salt loading only in DS rats. RNase protection assay demonstrated that NPR-C transcript level in the kidney was reduced by chronic salt loading in both DR and DS rats, whereas expression of NPR-A and NPR-B was not altered. The reduction of NPR-C mRNA in response to salt loading was enhanced in DS compared with DR rats. In situ hybridization indicated that the salt-induced NPR-C change was attributed mainly to suppressed expression of NPR-C in the podocytes. NPR-C gene expression was regulated by salt loading in a tissue-specific manner; the marked decrease in NPR-C mRNA by salt loading was seen only in the kidney. These data suggest that the exaggerated salt-induced reduction of NPR-C in the kidney of DS rats may play an important role in the pathogenesis of salt hypertension in this animal, possibly related to impaired renal sodium excretion.

Animals↗