Impaired myogenic autoregulation in kidneys of Brown Norway rats

The Brown Norway (BN) rat is normotensive and has an extended lifespan but is extremely sensitive to hypertension-induced renal injury. Relative impairment of autoregulation has been implicated in the progression of renal failure whereas absence of myogenic autoregulation is associated with early renal failure. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that there is conditional failure of renal autoregulation in BN rats. In isoflurane-anesthetized BN rats, the pressure-flow transfer function was normal when pressure fluctuated spontaneously. External forcing increased pressure fluctuation and exposed weakness of the myogenic component of autoregulation; the component mediated by tubuloglomerular feedback was less affected. In the presence of vasopressin to raise renal perfusion pressure, myogenic autoregulation was further impaired during forcing in BN rats but not in Wistar rats. Compensation by the myogenic system was rapidly restored on cessation of forcing, suggesting a functional limitation rather than a structural failure. Graded forcing in Wistar rats and in spontaneously hypertensive rats revealed that compensation due to the myogenic system was strong and independent of forcing amplitude. In contrast, graded forcing in BN rats showed that compensation was reduced when fluctuation of blood pressure was increased but that the reduction was independent of forcing amplitude. The results demonstrate conditional failure of myogenic autoregulation in BN rats. These acute studies provide a possible explanation for the observed sensitivity to hypertension-induced renal injury in BN rats.