[Differentiated changes in the activity of the sympathetic nerves induced by glycopenia in spontaneously hypertensive...

2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) evokes an increase in the efferent discharge rate of the adrenal nerve in anesthetized rats and rabbits. A 63% increase in adrenal sympathetic nerve activity (adrSNA) occurred within 15 min after 125 mg/kg 2-DG administration in alert animals, no changes being revealed in the renal sympathetic nerve activity (renSNA), blood pressure (BP) or the heart rate (HR). Additional administration of 375 mg/kg 2-DG (cumulative dose 500 mg/kg) led to an over 120% increase in the adrSNA and the 20 mm Hg increase in the BP, whereas renSNA only increased by 30%. These results indicate that 2-DG-induced neuroglycopenia evokes highly differential changes in adrenal and renSNA in alert SHR rats. Whether this explains an obvious response of the BP in SHR to 2-DG, remains to be determined.