Aortic morphology in salt-dependent genetic hypertension

Excessive salt intake is an important determinant of human essential hypertension. Hypertension resulting from genetically determined salt sensitivity can be studied by the used of the salt-sensitive (S) and -resistant (R) rat strains developed by Dahl. A longitudinal morphometric and ultrastructural study of S and R Dahl rats fed different amounts of salt (0.6%, 4.0%, and 8.0% NaCl) for 2-14 weeks was undertaken. Only S rats responded to high-salt (4.0% and 8.0%) diets with an increase in blood pressure, and the rate of hypertension development was proportional to the daily amount of salt consumed. Likewise, S but not R rats fed high-salt diets showed thickening of the aortic media which paralleled the rise of blood pressure. Intimal lesions were characterized by the accumulation of an amorphous, electron-dense substance in the subendothelial space (SES), adherence or penetration of lymphoid cells, and subendothelial fibrin deposition. The extent and severity of SES expansion correlated more closely with the duration of salt feeding than with the level of blood pressure. Fibrin deposition was noted only in severely hypertensive animals and was not related to the salt concentration in the diet. Morphologic abnormalities in endothelial cells were noted in hypertensive animals by transmission and scanning electron microscopy as well as by en face preparation, but endothelial denudation and junctional disruptions were notably absent. In contrast to the large numbers of lymphoid cells, neither platelets nor fibrin were seen adherent on the endothelium. These results, in conjunction with previous studies in other hypertensive models, indicate that the nature and extent of vascular lesions depend not only on the severity of hypertension but also on its rate of development, duration, and pathophysiologic characteristics.