Alterations in sympathetic neurotransmission and vascular reactivity in fructose-induced hypertensive rats

• Published in: Japanese Journal of Pharmacology 2000, Vol.82 (suppl.1), p.211-211
• Main Authors: Takata, Yoshinobu, Matsumoto, Yuji, Kato, Hitoshi
• Format: Article
• Language: eng ; jpn
• ISSN: 0021-5198
• DOI: 10.1016/S0021-5198(19)48305-4

We studied both sympathetic neurotransmission and reactivity to vasoactive agents of the mesenteric vascular bed from fructose-fed rats. Wistar rats were given fructose in drinking water as a 10% solution for 9 or 12 weeks. A 9-week treatment with fructose elevated plasma triglyceride and insulin levels, but a 12-week treatment was required to increase significantly blood pressure. Periarterial nerve stimulation-evoked norepinephrine (NE) release was greater in hypertensive rats than in control rats, but the subsequent vasoconstriction was similar in both rats. Exogenous NE-induced vasoconstriction was decreased at prehypertensive rats and this decrease became more marked at hypertensive rats. The vasoconstrictions induced by angiotensin I and endothelin- 1, but not U-46619, were greater in both prehypertensive and hypertensive rats compared with the respective control rats. The results suggest that an enhanced NE release may be compensatory to a decreased vasoconstriction caused by NE in hypertensive rats. The increase in vasoconstriction evoked by angiotensin I and endothelin-1 may contribute to the pathogenesis of hypertension in fructose-fed rats.