Atrial appendectomy reduces ANF but not sodium excretion in acute vasopressin hypertension

The present study was designed to determine whether atrial appendectomy would decrease the sodium excretion associated with pressor doses of arginine vasopressin (AVP) infusion in rats by decreasing circulating levels of atrial natriuretic factor (ANF). Ten to 21 days after either sham (n = 9) or bilateral atrial appendectomy (n = 13) AVP (19 ng.kg-1.min-1) was infused for 90 min in anesthetized Sprague-Dawley rats. Atrial appendectomy decreased circulating ANF levels from 469 +/- 70 pg/ml in sham-operated animals to 259 +/- 50 pg/ml (P less than 0.05) in atrial-appendectomized animals after 90 min of AVP infusion. Despite a reduction in circulating levels of ANF, sodium excretion, potassium excretion, and urine flow increased and were not affected by bilateral atrial appendectomy. Glomerular filtration rate and mean arterial pressure significantly increased in both groups of rats. The present study supports non-ANF factors such as increases in renal perfusion pressure and/or glomerular filtration rate as potential mechanisms in AVP-induced natriuresis.