Rl. Thunhorst et al., ROLE OF RENAL NERVES IN SODIUM DEPLETION-INDUCED SALT APPETITE, American journal of physiology. Regulatory, integrative and comparative physiology, 40(3), 1996, pp. 806-812
The ingestion of water and 0.3 M NaCl solution and the secretion of ke
y hormones were studied in groups of intact and bilaterally renal-dene
rvated rats after extracellular fluid depletion. Hypovolemia with mild
hypotension was produced by subcutaneous injections of the diuretic f
urosemide (10 mg/kg) followed by injections of the angiotensin-convert
ing enzyme inhibitor captopril (5 mg/kg sc). Denervated rats drank sig
nificantly less of a concentrated saline solution in response to deple
tion than intact control rats did, but drank similar amounts of water.
Denervated rats finished testing in significantly greater negative wa
ter and sodium balance compared with controls. Renal denervation did n
ot impair the secretion of renin and aldosterone or the formation of a
ngiotensin I. The diminished sodium intake of denervated rats is not a
ttributable to reduced water and sodium excretion in response to the h
ypovolemic protocol. These results indicate that the integrity of the
renal nerves is important for the normal elaboration of salt appetite
in response to hypovolemia/hypotension.