Drinking in sodium-depleted rats with bile duct, vena cava or portal vein obstruction

The authors investigated whether a depletion of sodium with furosemide enhanced the water and 0.3 M NaCl intakes of rats with experimental cholestasis, portal hypertension or congestive heart failure. These were induced, respectively, by bile duct ligation (BDL), portal vein constriction or vena cava constriction. BDL alone increased daily saline intake. In BDL rats, but not in sham-ligated controls, experience with a prior depletion of sodium enhanced the 2-h saline intake and the retention of water and sodium after a subsequent depletion. Chronic cava constriction, but not portal constriction, enhanced sodium intake and retention after sodium depletion during a 2-h test and enhanced water intake overnight after the test. The results suggest that the ingestion of sodium by BDL and cava-constricted rats may share a common mechanism.