Effect of sympathectomy on arterial and venous changes in renal hypertensive rats

Arterial pressure-flow and venous pressure-volume relationships were measured at maximal vasodilatation in the denervated pump-perfused hindquarters of four groups of rats: 1) neonatally sympathectomized (guanethidine-injected and adrenal-demedullated), one-kidney, one-clip hypertensive (n = 9); 2) sympathectomized, sham-operated, unilaterally nephrectomized control (n = 10); 3) sham-sympathectomized, one-kidney, one-clip hypertensive (n = 8); and 4) sham-sympathectomized, sham-operated, unilaterally nephrectomized control (n = 9). Dry defatted weight of anatomically defined segments of the aorta and vena cava in the four groups of rats also was measured. Significant rises in arterial pressure developed in sympathectomized rats after clipping of the renal artery and contralateral nephrectomy. Arterial pressure-flow curves were shifted toward the pressure axis (P less than 0.01) in clipped rats whether sympathectomized or not. In sympathectomized clipped rats, there was also a shift of the venous pressure-volume curves toward the pressure axis (P less than 0.05). The same degree of hypertrophy of the aorta was found in sympathectomized and sham-sympathectomized clipped rats. The findings indicate that in renal hypertensive rats structural changes of both large arteries and veins may develop in the absence of an intact sympathoadrenergic system.