Dietary calcium modulates blood pressure through alpha 1-adrenergic receptors

To investigate the role of adrenergic receptor activity in dietary calcium-induced alterations in blood pressure, weanling spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) were placed on either high-calcium (2.0%) or low-calcium (0.1%) diets for 1-2 wk. Baseline blood pressure was higher and pressor responses to exogenous norepinephrine (NE) were greater in the SHR on low-calcium diets than high-calcium diets. There was no difference between diet groups in circulating NE or in the pressor response to angiotensin II. The difference in basal blood pressure was eliminated by the alpha 1-adrenergic receptor blockers phentolamine and prazosin but was not altered by alpha 2-, beta 1-, or beta 2-adrenergic receptor blockade (idazoxan, metoprolol, and butoxamine, respectively). Furthermore, hypotension produced by either calcitonin gene-related peptide, captopril, or nitroprusside failed to eliminate the diet-induced difference in blood pressure. The results suggest the possibility that diet-induced differences in alpha 1-adrenergic activity may be responsible, in part, for variations in blood pressure on different calcium diets.