Evidence for diminished sensitivity of the hamster pulmonary vasculature to hypoxia

Many mammals exhibit elevated pulmonary arterial pressure when exposed to airway hypoxia. In addition, prolonged hypoxic exposure may result in elevated hematocrit and right ventricular hypertrophy. The current study was designed to test whether the hamster, a fossorial species, may possess naturally selected physiological characteristics advantageous to a chronically hypoxic environment. Hamsters and rats were studied at low altitude (1,520 m) and after 5 wk at high altitude (4,250 m). Hematocrit for low-altitude hamsters was 53 +/- 1 compared with 45 +/- 1 for low-altitude rats. Low-altitude hamsters and rats demonstrated the same right ventricular weight-to-total ventricular weight ratio (RV/T) (0.223 +/- 0.006 vs. 0.222 +/- 0.003). After high-altitude exposure the hematocrit for hamsters and rats was the same (58 +/- 1 vs. 57 +/- 1), but RV/T was less in the hamster (0.251 +/- 0.004 vs. 0.288 +/- 0.005). In addition, the hypoxic pulmonary pressor response of lungs isolated from low- and high-altitude animals was examined. Lungs from hamsters were less responsive than lungs from rats at all levels of hypoxia tested. In addition, exposure to altitude resulted in a diminished pressor response in lungs from both species. It is concluded that the pulmonary vasculature of the hamster is less responsive to hypoxia than that of the rat, and that this relative unresponsiveness may aid the hamster in an hypoxic environment.