title: Ontogeny of plasma renin activity in the Dahl rat model of essential hypertension.
abstract: Plasma renin activity (PRA) is characteristically lower in the Dahl salt-sensitive (S) rat than in the salt-resistant (R) rat. To establish whether PRA differs between these strains at birth or subsequently becomes suppressed in the Dahl S rat, the ontogeny of PRA was studied in inbred Dahl hypertension-prone (S/JR) and hypertension-resistant (R/JR) rats from 5 to 51 days of age. Pregnant dams and postweaning pups were maintained on diets containing either 0.15% or 0.69% sodium chloride (w:w). Although PRA clearly distinguished the two strains in young adulthood, it was not lower in the S/JR pups at 5 and 15 days of age. However, PRA was greater in rat pups suckling dams consuming the low salt diet. These results suggest that suppressed PRA in S/JR rats is an acquired trait, perhaps occurring secondary to other physiological abnormalities and that maternal diet influences PRA in the suckling Dahl rat.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D004351:Drug Resistance / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D006973:Hypertension / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics*; D011247:Pregnancy; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D012083:Renin / Q000097:blood*; D012965:Sodium Chloride / Q000008:administration & dosage
chemical_list: D012965:Sodium Chloride; D012083:Renin