Antidiuretic and pressor actions of vasopressin in age-dependent DOCA-salt hypertension

The role of antidiuretic and pressor effects of vasopressin (VP) in deoxycorticosterone acetate (DOCA)-salt hypertension was studied in young and adult Brattleboro rats. The antidiuretic VP action was a necessary prerequisite for the development of severe DOCA-salt hypertension. The insufficient expansion of extracellular fluid volume in DOCA-salt-treated VP-deficient (DI) rats was associated with the attenuation of their hypertensive response, although they had highly increased blood volume and extracellular sodium. Chronic [deamino]-D-arginine vasopressin supplementation that restored volume and distribution of body fluids in DI rats permitted the full development of DOCA-salt hypertension. Blood pressure response to DOCA-salt treatment was always greater in young than in adult Brattleboro rats (even in animals lacking pressor or both VP effects). In animals in which antidiuretic VP effects were present, the pattern of body fluid response to DOCA-salt treatment was also age dependent. There was a tendency to intravascular expansion in young hypertensive rats, whereas an increase of interstitial fluid volume was found in adult animals. The elimination of VP pressor action lowered systemic resistance much more in adult than in young hypertensive rats. We conclude that 1) in adult but not in young rats antidiuretic VP effects are essential for the occurrence of blood pressure response to DOCA-salt treatment, 2) the restoration of body fluids due to antidiuretic VP action enables the development of hypertension in both age groups of DI rats, and 3) pressor VP effects contribute to the maintenance of hypertension, especially in adult animals.