Abstract
Renal denervation was performed in healthy dogs and in dogs with experimentally induced renal failure to examine the role of the renal nerve in canine renal hypertension. Before renal denervation, canine models of renal failure had a significantly lower renal excretion rate and higher blood pressure and plasma norepinephrine level compared to healthy dogs (P ＜0.05). After denervation, healthy dogs did not show significant changes in renal function, while blood pressure and plasma renin activity were significantly decreased (P ＜0.05), and sympathetic dominance was indicated by heart rate variability analysis. In dogs with renal failure, denervation did not weaken renal function but significantly lowered mean and diastolic blood pressures as well as plasma renin activity (P ＜0.05). These dogs showed parasympathetic dominance after denervation. These results suggest that the renal nerve plays a key role in blood pressure regulation and contributes to the development of renal hypertension, possibly via modulation of the plasma renin activity.
