Influence of steady-state PaCO2 on escape from ADH-induced water retention in the dog

The influence of the prevailing PaCO2 on the water-retaining effects of sustained elevations in ADH was assessed by administering vasopressin (5 U in oil, twice daily) and a fixed water intake to dogs with eucapnia (n, 7), chronic hypercapnia (n, 6), and chronic hypocapnia (n, 8). Although water excretion initially fell to a similar extent in all three groups, cumulative water retention by day 4 of vasopressin administration was 77 mg/kg in the hypocapnic group, 46 ml/kg in the eucapnic group, and only 14 ml/kg in the hypercapnic group. These differences were reflected in a marked disparity in the degree of hyposmolality of body fluids, plasma osmolality falling by day 4 to an average value of 223, 237, and 268 mosmol/kg in the hypocapnic, eucapnic, and hypercapnic animals, respectively. In a separate group of dogs, water deprivation and water loading studies revealed that sustained hypercapnia does not affect the maximal concentrating or diluting ability of the kidney. We conclude, therefore, that the striking influence of the prevailing PaCO2 on the water-retaining effects of administered vasopressin cannot be ascribed to an altered responsiveness of the nephron per se, but that this influence reflects an alteration in the ease with which the kidney can escape from the antidiuretic effects of this substance.