Effects of canrenone on RRM-sucrose hypertension in WKY

Ingestion of a diet high in sucrose content by WKY rats having reduced renal mass (RRM) via a unilateral nephrectomy causes a significant elevation of BP--greater than might be expected from either condition alone. The same findings occur whether the added sucrose calories replace protein or fat. The elevated BP differential remained throughout the 6 months of the study. In some ways, these results resemble a well recognized model of hypertension produced by the removal of 70-80% of renal mass plus excess salt consumption (RRM-salt). When the RRM-sucrose WKY were given canrenone, an agent which is a digoxin antagonist, the BP decreased significantly simulating previous findings in RRM-salt. Therefore, like the RRM-salt model, evidence suggests that the RRM-sucrose model is also caused, at least in part, by a digoxin-like factor (DLF).