Failure of salt loading to inhibit tissue norepinephrine turnover in prehypertensive Dahl salt-sensitive rats

To determine if alterations of electrolyte balance or sympathetic nervous system activity are present in Dahl salt-sensitive rats (DS) before the onset of hypertension, we compared electrolyte balances, extracellular fluid volume (inulin space), plasma volume (radiolabeled albumin), and norepinephrine turnover in peripheral tissues (heart and interscapular brown fat) in prehypertensive DS and Dahl salt-resistant rats (DR). Animals were maintained for 5 to 7 days on either a "normal" or high NaCl diet. Tissue norepinephrine turnover was evaluated by measuring the rate at which norepinephrine content decreased following tyrosine hydroxylase inhibition with alpha-methyl-p-tyrosine. Blood pressure was higher (p less than 0.05) in DS (135 +/- 2 [SE] mm Hg) than in DR (129 +/- 2 mm Hg) and was not affected by the diets. Extracellular fluid volume and net Na+ and Cl- balances did not differ between DS and DR. However, plasma volume was greater in DS than in DR (p less than 0.05). In both fat and heart, norepinephrine turnover was decreased by dietary NaCl loading in DR (p less than 0.01), but not in DS. Thus, the tendency of the DS to become hypertensive with high NaCl intake may be related to the combined effects of an increased plasma volume and the failure of high dietary NaCl to inhibit peripheral sympathetic nervous system activity.