Time course of renal responses to greater splanchnic nerve stimulation

The objective of the present study was to describe the time courses of renal responses during renal sympathetic stimulation and to determine whether the kidney can provide a sustained response to sympathetic stimulation for 3 h. In four pentobarbital sodium-anesthetized dogs, stimulation (3.3 Hz) of a greater splanchnic nerve (GSN) on one side caused reductions in renal blood flow (RBF) and sodium excretion (UNaV) of both stimulated and contralateral-denervated kidneys, plus an increase in plasma renin activity (PRA). During continued stimulation, RBF partially recovered, but UNaV fell to less than 5% of control and PRA rose and remained at least eight times above control. In nine dogs, a single GSN was stimulated after ipsilateral adrenal medullectomy and ligation of the splanchnic circulation. The acute response to GSN stimulation was now confined to the ipsilateral kidney. Ipsilateral RBF fell by 32 +/- 10% but returned to 85 +/- 5% of control values by the end of the stimulation period. Contralateral RBF fell slowly by approximately 10%. Ipsilateral and contralateral UNaV fell to 34 +/- 10 and 43 +/- 11% of control values, respectively. PRA increased rapidly at the onset of GSN stimulation and remained at least 2.8 times control levels. After stimulation, RBF, UNaV, and PRA returned toward control levels. These results confirm the findings of others that the response of the renal vasculature to sympathetic stimulation is mainly transient. However, they additionally demonstrate a strong and sustained decrease in UNaV lasting for the total 3-h period of sympathetic stimulation.