title: Chronic vs. acute hemodynamic effects of atrial natriuretic factor in conscious rats.
abstract: The present study was designed to examine acute (2 h) and chronic (5 day) effects of pathophysiological elevations of plasma atrial natriuretic factor (ANF) in conscious normotensive rats. Acute infusion of ANF (100 ng.kg-1.min-1; n = 15) resulted in a decrease in mean arterial pressure (MAP) of 5 +/- 3 mmHg, which was associated with a 23 +/- 4% decrease in cardiac output (CO) and a 27 +/- 6% increase in total peripheral resistance (TPR). Hematocrit increased from 41.9 +/- 0.7 to 46.0 +/- 0.6%, which is suggestive of vascular volume contraction. Chronic infusion of ANF (n = 9) produced a significant fall in MAP from a control value of 114 +/- 2 to 100 +/- 3 and 99 +/- 2 mmHg on days 1 and 5, respectively. CO decreased significantly (27 +/- 2%) and TPR increased (21 +/- 5%) on day 1; neither variable was significantly different from control on day 5. Plasma immunoreactive ANF levels were significantly elevated during acute (791 +/- 76 pg/ml) and chronic (626 +/- 202 pg/ml) ANF infusion compared with control values of approximately 100 pg/ml. The results indicate that elevations in plasma ANF within the pathophysiological range can significantly alter systemic hemodynamics, initially mediated by a decrease in CO. Autoregulatory phenomena may counteract these hemodynamic effects, returning CO to control levels and reducing TPR when the elevations in plasma ANF are chronically sustained.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans 70112.
authors.forename: L M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Harrison-Bernard
authors.forename: R C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Vari
authors.forename: W H
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Holleman
authors.forename: N C
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Trippodo
authors.forename: R W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Barbee
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D009320:Atrial Natriuretic Factor / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects; D001798:Blood Proteins / Q000032:analysis; D002302:Cardiac Output / Q000187:drug effects; D003243:Consciousness / Q000502:physiology*; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000187:drug effects; D006400:Hematocrit; D006439:Hemodynamics / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D014655:Vascular Resistance / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D001798:Blood Proteins; D009320:Atrial Natriuretic Factor