Lack of effect of vasopressin replacement on renin hypersecretion in Brattleboro rats

To determine how the vasopressin deficiency in homozygous Brattleboro rats with diabetes insipidus produces increased renin secretion, homozygous and heterozygous Brattleboro rats were infused through subcutaneously implanted Alzet minipumps for 1 wk with a dose of arginine vasopressin that restored plasma vasopressin to normal in the homozygous animals. In the homozygous animals, plasma renin activity (PRA) and the PRA response to immobilization remained elevated compared with Long-Evans controls. Propranolol reduced PRA to normal and markedly reduced the PRA response to immobilization. PRA was normal in heterozygous Brattleboro rats. The data indicate that the increased renin secretion in homozygous rats is a result of increased sympathetic activity, and because circulating vasopressin does not cross the blood-brain barrier, it seems likely that the increased sympathetic activity is central in origin.