Altered disposition of vascular catecholamines in hypertensive (DOCA-salt) rats

The levels of norepinephrine (NE), dopamine (DA) and epinephrine (E) in the vasculature of hypertension (DOCA-SALT) and normotensive rats were determined by radioenzymatic assay. Significant decreases in the NE content of the mesenteric artery, renal artery and cardiac tissue from DOCA-Salt treated rats were found. In contrast the NE content of the inferior vena cava, abdominal aorta and mesenteric vein were not significantly decreased in the DOCA-Salt treated rats. There was no evidence of an altered disposition of DA and E in the vasculature of DOCA-Salt treated rats. The results of the study indicate that NE is selectively depleted in the cardiovascular system of this model of experimental hypertension and it is proposed that this property reflects different functional roles of individual elements of the vasculature in the DOCA-Salt hypertensive rat.