Cardiovascular, renal, and endocrine responses to graded volume expansion in lambs during maturation

To further investigate the maturation of the cardiopulmonary baroreflex, we measured the effects of a 45-min blood volume expansion to an increase in right atrial pressure of approximately 4 mmHg in chronically instrumented newborn (n = 17) and older lambs (n = 14). Measurements included various parameters of endocrine, cardiovascular, and renal function and concomitant recording of renal sympathetic nerve activity (RSNA). During blood volume expansion, RSNA was inhibited to a similar extent in newborns and older lambs when atrial pressures were increased by approximately 4 mmHg. A sympathoinhibition persisted in newborns but was only transient in older lambs. In newborn lambs, heart rate decreased in response to blood volume expansion, whereas heart rate remained constant after blood volume expansion in older lambs. The renal and endocrine responses to blood volume expansion were, however, similar in newborns and older lambs. These data provide evidence that when atrial pressures are matched, the renal and endocrine responses to blood volume expansion are similar, but there are differential cardiovascular and RSNA responses. Any reduced ability of the newborn kidney to excrete a volume load is therefore probably related to maturational differences in its distribution between the capacitance vessels and the heart.