Early studies indicate that the hypertension observed in the Schlager inbred mouse strain may be attributed to a neurogenic mechanism. In this study, we examined the contribution of the sympathetic nervous system in maintaining hypertension in the BPH/2J mouse and used c-Fos immunohistochemistry to elucidate whether neuronal activation in specific brain regions was associated with waking blood pressure. Male hypertensive (BPH/2J; n=14), normotensive (BPN/3J; n=18), and C57/Bl6 (n=5) mice were implanted with telemetry devices, and after 10 days of recovery, recordings of blood pressure, heart rate, and locomotor activity were measured to determine circadian variation. Mean arterial pressure was higher in BPH/2J than in BPN/3J or C57/Bl6 mice (P<0.001), and BPH/2J animals showed exaggerated day-night differences (17+/-2 versus 6+/-1 mm Hg in BPN/3J or +8+/-2 mm Hg in C57/Bl6 mice; P<0.001). Acute sympathetic blockade with pentolinium (7.5 mg/kg IP) during the active and inactive phases reduced blood pressure to comparable levels in BPH/2J and BPN/3J mice. The number of c-Fos-labeled cells was greater in the amygdala (+180%; P<0.01), paraventricular nucleus (+110%; P<0.001), and dorsomedial hypothalamus (+48%; P<0.001) in the active (hypertensive) phase in BPH/2J compared with BPN/3J mice. The level of neuronal activation was mostly similar in these regions in the inactive phase. Of all of the regions studied, neuronal activation in the medial amygdala, as detected by c-Fos, was highly correlated to mean arterial pressure (r=0.98). These findings indicate that the hypertension is largely attributable to sympathetic nervous system activity, possibly generated through greater levels of arousal regulated by neurons located in the medial amygdala.

Tissue hypoxia has been demonstrated, in both the renal cortex and medulla, during the acute phase of reperfusion after ischemia induced by occlusion of the aorta upstream from the kidney. However, there are also recent clinical observations indicating relatively well preserved oxygenation in the nonfunctional transplanted kidney. To test whether severe acute kidney injury can occur in the absence of widespread renal tissue hypoxia, we measured cortical and inner medullary tissue Po2 as well as total renal O2 delivery (Do2) and O2 consumption (Vo2) during the first 2 h of reperfusion after 60 min of occlusion of the renal artery in anesthetized rats. To perform this experiment, we used a new method for measuring kidney Do2 and Vo2 that relies on implantation of fluorescence optodes in the femoral artery and renal vein. We were unable to detect reductions in renal cortical or inner medullary tissue Po2 during reperfusion after ischemia localized to the kidney. This is likely explained by the observation that Vo2 (-57%) was reduced by at least as much as Do2 (-45%), due to a large reduction in glomerular filtration (-94%). However, localized tissue hypoxia, as evidence by pimonidazole adduct immunohistochemistry, was detected in kidneys subjected to ischemia and reperfusion, particularly in, but not exclusive to, the outer medulla. Thus, cellular hypoxia, particularly in the outer medulla, may still be present during reperfusion even when reductions in tissue Po2 are not detected in the cortex or inner medulla.

RG. Diffusive oxygen shunting between vessels in the preglomerular renal vasculature: anatomic observations and computational modeling. Am J Physiol To understand how geometric factors affect arterial-to-venous (AV) oxygen shunting, a mathematical model of diffusive oxygen transport in the renal cortex was developed. Preglomerular vascular geometry was investigated using light microscopy (providing vein shape, AV separation, and capillary density near arteries) and published micro-computed tomography (CT) data (providing vessel size and AV separation; Nordsletten DA, Blackett S, Bentley MD, Ritman EL, Smith NP. IUPS Physiome Project. http://www. physiome.org.nz/publications/nordsletten_blackett_ritman_bentley_ smith_2005/folder_contents). A "U-shaped" relationship was observed between the arterial radius and the distance between the arterial and venous lumens. Veins were found to partially wrap around the artery more consistently for larger rather than smaller arteries. Intrarenal arteries were surrounded by an area of fibrous tissue, lacking capillaries, the thickness of which increased from ϳ5 m for the smallest arteries (Ͻ16-m diameter) to ϳ20 m for the largest arteries (Ͼ200-m diameter). Capillary density was greater near smaller arteries than larger arteries. No capillaries were observed between wrapped AV vessel pairs. The computational model comprised a single AV pair in cross section. Geometric parameters critical in renal oxygen transport were altered according to variations observed by CT and light microscopy. Lumen separation and wrapping of the vein around the artery were found to be the critical geometric factors determining the amount of oxygen shunted between AV pairs. AV oxygen shunting increases both as lumen separation decreases and as the degree of wrapping increases. The model also predicts that capillaries not only deliver oxygen, but can also remove oxygen from the cortical parenchyma close to an AV pair. Thus the presence of oxygen sinks (capillaries or tubules) near arteries would reduce the effectiveness of AV oxygen shunting. Collectively, these data suggest that AV oxygen shunting would be favored in larger vessels common to the cortical and medullary circulations (i.e., arcuate and proximal interlobular arteries) rather than the smaller vessels specific to the cortical circulation (distal interlobular arteries and afferent arterioles). hypoxia; kidney circulation; oxygen tension; renal oxygenation FIFTY YEARS AGO Levy et al. (17,18) provided evidence that oxygen is transported more rapidly than erythrocytes through the renal circulation, suggesting the existence of diffusional oxygen shunting between intrarenal arteries and veins. Shunting reduces the delivery of oxygen to renal tissue (26,27). In further support of the existence of arterial-to-venous (AV) oxygen shunting, Welch et al. (29) observed that the PO 2 of renal venous blood exceeds that of blood in the efferent arterioles of the outer cortex. In common with other countercurrent systems in biology and chemical engineering, it...

Oxygen tension (Po2) of urine in the bladder could be used to monitor risk of acute kidney injury if it varies with medullary Po2 Therefore, we examined this relationship and characterized oxygen diffusion across walls of the ureter and bladder in anesthetized rabbits. A computational model was then developed to predict medullary Po2 from bladder urine Po2 Both intravenous infusion of [Phe(2),Ile(3),Orn(8)]-vasopressin and infusion of N(G)-nitro-l-arginine reduced urinary Po2 and medullary Po2 (8-17%), yet had opposite effects on renal blood flow and urine flow. Changes in bladder urine Po2 during these stimuli correlated strongly with changes in medullary Po2 (within-rabbit r(2) = 0.87-0.90). Differences in the Po2 of saline infused into the ureter close to the kidney could be detected in the bladder, although this was diminished at lesser ureteric flow. Diffusion of oxygen across the wall of the bladder was very slow, so it was not considered in the computational model. The model predicts Po2 in the pelvic ureter (presumed to reflect medullary Po2) from known values of bladder urine Po2, urine flow, and arterial Po2 Simulations suggest that, across a physiological range of urine flow in anesthetized rabbits (0.1-0.5 ml/min for a single kidney), a change in bladder urine Po2 explains 10-50% of the change in pelvic urine/medullary Po2 Thus, it is possible to infer changes in medullary Po2 from changes in urinary Po2, so urinary Po2 may have utility as a real-time biomarker of risk of acute kidney injury.