Pregnancy-induced hypertension: development of a model in the pregnant primate (Papio anubis)

Experiments were performed on two groups of pregnant baboons. In the experimental group, the subrenal aortic blood flow was reduced by 58% of its original value at 100 days of gestational age. In the control group, the blood flow was measured but not restricted. In the experimental group fetal death occurred in three of 12 animals following the use of a single left-flank incision to approach both the renal artery and the abdominal aorta. In the control group, pregnancies in eight of nine animals went successfully to 165 days. In the experimental group the development of hypertension, a decrease in plasma renin activity, an increase in renal resistance, an increase in serum uric acid, and the development of glomerular changes consistent with those seen in human pregnancy-induced hypertension were noted. These studies demonstrate that pregnancy-induced hypertension can be produced experimentally in a pregnant baboon, and this model should prove useful in expediting studies on the pathophysiologic features and treatment of this condition.