The role of nitric oxide (NO)-containing nerves in adrenergic neurotransmission in hypertension was studied in mesenteric resistance arteries without endothelium in 2-kidney-1-clip renal hypertensive rats (2K-1C RHR) and sham-operated normotensive rats (Sham-R). Mesenteric vascular beds isolated from 2K-1C RHR and Sham-R were perfused with Krebs solution and changes in perfusion pressure were measured with a pressure transducer. Perfusion of a NO synthase inhibitor, N-ω-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME), markedly augmented vasoconstrictor responses to periarterial nerve stimulation (PNS) without affecting vasoconstriction induced by exogenously injected noradrenaline. L-NAME significantly increased the neurogenic release of NA evoked by PNS in both 2K-1C RHR and Sham-R preparations. The facilitatory effect of L-NAME based on the inhibition of NO production in 2K-1C RHR was less than that in Sham-R. These results suggest that the function of NO-containing nerves, which presynaptically inhibit adrenergic neurotransmission, is decreased in the renovascular hypertensive model rat.
