THE PRAGUE HYPERTENSIVE RAT - A NEW MODEL OF GENETIC-HYPERTENSION

Several animal models of genetic hypertension have been developed but not all of them possess a closely related control strain. Therefore, a new model based on Wistar rats is described in which both hypertensiv e and normotensive lines were bred from a single parental pair. Severa l basic data on the two lines (called the Prague Hypertensive Rat, PHR , and the Prague Normotensive Rat, PNR) are given. PNR had a longer su rvival compared with PHR. At the age of 7 weeks, systolic blood pressu re was 161 +/- 14 mmHg in PHR males and 109 +/- 9 mmHg in PNR males. I ts further increase with age was very slow in PNR but very steep in PH R. Typical left ventricular cardiac hypertrophy developed in PHR in wh ich cardiac output was not significantly different from that of PNR bu t total peripheral resistance was higher. Kidney weight was also great er in PHR than in PNR. There was no difference in basic renal function s except of proteinuria which was higher in PHR than in PNR. No differ ences were observed in extracellular and interstitial fluid volumes wh ereas plasma and blood volumes were slightly but significantly greater in PHR than in PNR suggesting a shift of extracellular fluid towards the intravascular compartment. This hypertensive model the parameters of which resemble to those of human essential hypertension should be e specially suitable for cross-transplantation studies.