.-The present study was designed to test the hypothesis that renal nerves chronically modulate arterial pressure (AP) under basal conditions and during changes in dietary salt intake. To test this hypothesis, continuous telemetric recording of AP in intact (sham) and renal denervated (RDNX) Sprague-Dawley rats was performed and the effect of increasing and decreasing dietary salt intake on AP was determined. In protocol 1, 24-h AP, sodium, and water balances were measured in RDNX (n ϭ 11) and sham (n ϭ 9) rats during 5 days of normal (0.4% NaCl) and 10 days of high (4.0% NaCl) salt intake, followed by a 3-day recovery period (0.4% NaCl). Protocol 2 was similar with the exception that salt intake was decreased to 0.04% NaCl for 10 days after the 5-day period of normal salt (0.04% NaCl) intake (RDNX; n ϭ 6, sham; n ϭ 5). In protocol 1, AP was lower in RDNX (91 Ϯ 1 mmHg) compared with sham (101 Ϯ 2 mmHg) rats during the 5-day 0.4% NaCl control period. During the 10 days of high salt intake, AP increased Ͻ5 mmHg in both groups so that the difference between sham and RDNX rats remained constant. In protocol 2, AP was also lower in RDNX (93 Ϯ 2 mmHg) compared with sham (105 Ϯ 4 mmHg) rats during the 5-day 0.4% NaCl control period, and AP did not change in response to 10 days of a low-salt diet in either group. Overall, there were no between-group differences in sodium or water balance in either protocol. We conclude that renal nerves support basal levels of AP, irrespective of dietary sodium intake in normal rats. sympathetic nervous system; angiotensin II; renal vascular resistance THE KIDNEYS PLAY A PROMINENT role in fluid and electrolyte regulation and therefore arterial pressure homeostasis. One mechanism by which the kidneys are thought to maintain fluid homeostasis is by the renal sympathetic nerves. Fluctuations in the degree of renal sympathetic nerve activity (RSNA) modulate renin secretion from juxtaglomerular cells, sodium reabsorption from renal tubular cells, and renal hemodynamics (13).Many lines of evidence have implicated sympathetically mediated mechanisms in the development of hypertension in several rat models (23,26,27,46). Accordingly, in some models of hypertension, complete renal denervation delayed the development of hypertension (23, 27-30). These results indirectly support a role of afferent and efferent renal nerves in the pathogenesis of hypertension. However, evidence suggesting that renal nerves are important in the long-term control of blood pressure in normotensive rats is not well established. For example, under conditions of increases in dietary sodium intake, is the reduction of RSNA important in the maintenance of a normotensive state? Although this is a crucial question, it has not been answered due to technical limitations for long-term recording of sympathetic nerve activity in conscious rats.The results of several studies (6, 33) tend to suggest that RSNA is modulated by changes in baroreceptor afferent nerve activity. The role of the baroreflex in regulating RSNA is in part sup...

Eight dual-flow continuous-culture fermenters were used to evaluate the effect of neutral detergent-soluble carbohydrates (NDSC) on fermentation by ruminal microorganisms. Citrus pulp and hominy feed were added to a basal diet as sources of NDSC, with citrus pulp providing neutral detergent-soluble fiber (NDSF) in the form of pectic substances and with hominy feed in the form of starch. The basal diet contained 26.7% corn silage, 6.0% alfalfa hay and 3.8% cottonseed hulls on a DM basis. The dried citrus pulp diet contained on a DM basis 17.2% CP, 34.7% NDF, 33.7% NDSC, and 14.4% NDSF, whereas the hominy feed diet contained 17.9% CP, 33.2% NDF, 35.9% NDSC, and 8.8% NDSF. Organic matter, DM, and NDF and ADF digestion were not affected by source of carbohydrate. Ammonia N concentration was greater (P < 0.05) for the hominy feed diet (14.2 mg/100 mL) than for the dried citrus pulp diet (9.3 mg/100 mL). Total N, nonammonia N, microbial N, and dietary N flows were not affected by treatments; however, the efficiency of microbial protein synthesis was greater (P = 0.055) for the dried citrus pulp diet than for the hominy feed diet (30.6 vs 27.8 g of bacterial N/kg of OM truly digested). Results from this experiment indicate that NDSF from citrus pulp can provide similar sources of energy compared with starch from hominy feed to support ruminal microbial growth.

1. Renal denervation (RDNX) chronically lowers mean arterial pressure (MAP) in normal rats but mechanisms leading to this hypotensive response remain unknown. 2. We hypothesized that this sustained decrease in arterial pressure was because of a loss of beta1-adrenoceptor mediated renin secretion. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were assigned to sham (SHAM; n = 9), unilateral (UniRDNX; n = 9), or bilateral (RDNX; n = 10) renal denervation groups and instrumented for telemetric MAP measurements, plasma renin concentration (PRC) measurements and intravenous infusion. Twenty-four h MAP, heart rate, sodium and water balances were recorded 5 days before, 3 days during and 3 days after 1-adrenoceptor blockade with atenolol. 3. The 5-day control MAP was significantly lower in RDNX (97 +/- 1 mmHg) compared to SHAM (105 +/- 2 mmHg) and UniRDNX (102 +/- 2 mmHg) rats. No significant differences in basal PRC were observed between RDNX (2.2 +/- 0.3 ngAng1/mL per h), UniRDNX (2.6 +/- 0.4 ng/Ang1/mL per h) and SHAM (2.6 +/- 0.4 ngAng1/mL per h) rats. By day 1 of atenolol, PRC was significantly lower in UniRDNX rats (1.8 +/- 0.2 ngAg1/mL per h) compared to control values, but was unchanged during atenolol infusion in the other groups. By day 3 of atenolol, MAP was significantly decreased in all groups, but the absolute levels of MAP remained statistically different between RDNX (87 +/- 1 mmHg) and SHAM (91 +/- 1 mmHg) groups. 4. We conclude that the arterial pressure lowering effect of RDNX is not solely dependent on the loss of neural control of renin release.