Role of renal interstitial hydrostatic pressure in natriuretic response to ANP

The present study evaluated the role of changes in renal interstitial hydrostatic pressure (RIHP) in the natriuretic response to atriopeptin III (AP III). In control animals, infusion of AP III (100 ng.kg-1.min-1 iv) increased fractional excretion of sodium, potassium, lithium, and water while glomerular filtration rate and renal blood flow were unaltered. The natriuretic response to AP III was associated with a significant elevation in RIHP from 5.6 +/- 0.8 to 8.1 +/- 1.0 mmHg. In rats pretreated with amiloride (1 mg/kg) to block sodium transport in the collecting duct, basal sodium excretion was elevated, but infusion of AP III still increased RIHP and the fractional excretion of sodium, water, and lithium by the same amount as was observed in the control animals. Removal of the renal capsule completely blocked the rise in interstitial pressure in the renal cortex in amiloride-treated rats, but it did not eliminate the elevation in sodium, water, and lithium excretion produced by AP III. To determine whether changes in renal medullary interstitial pressure could play a role in the residual natriuretic response to AP III in these animals, cortical and medullary interstitial pressure were simultaneously measured in rats with a decapsulated kidney. In this group, AP III increased renal medullary interstitial pressure, while cortical interstitial pressure was unaltered. These results are consistent with the view that changes in renal medullary hemodynamics and RIHP contribute to the natriuretic effect of atrial natriuretic peptide by elevating distal delivery of sodium from deep nephrons.