Oppermann M, Hansen PB, Castrop H, Schnermann J. Vasodilatation of afferent arterioles and paradoxical increase of renal vascular resistance by furosemide in mice. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol 293: F279-F287, 2007. First published May 9, 2007; doi:10.1152/ajprenal.00073.2007.-Loop diuretics like furosemide have been shown to cause renal vasodilatation in dogs and humans, an effect thought to result from both a direct vascular dilator effect and from inhibition of tubuloglomerular feedback. In isolated perfused afferent arterioles preconstricted with angiotensin II or N G -nitro-Larginine methyl ester, furosemide caused a dose-dependent increase of vascular diameter, but it was without effect in vessels from NKCC1Ϫ/Ϫ mice suggesting that inhibition of NKCC1 mediates dilatation in afferent arterioles. In the intact kidney, however, furosemide (2 mg/kg iv) caused a 50.5 Ϯ 3% reduction of total renal blood flow (RBF) and a 27% reduction of superficial blood flow (SBF) accompanied by a marked and immediate increase of tubular pressure and volume. At 10 mg/kg, furosemide reduced RBF by 60.4 Ϯ 2%. Similarly, NKCC1Ϫ/Ϫ mice responded to furosemide with a 45.4% decrease of RBF and a 29% decrease of SBF. Decreases in RBF and SBF and increases of tubular pressure by furosemide were ameliorated by renal decapsulation. In addition, pretreatment with candesartan (2 mg/kg) or indomethacin (5 mg/kg) attenuated the reduction of RBF and peak urine flows caused by furosemide. Our data indicate that furosemide, despite its direct vasodilator potential in isolated afferent arterioles, causes a marked increase in flow resistance of the vascular bed of the intact mouse kidney. We suggest that generation of angiotensin II and/or a vasoconstrictor prostaglandin combined with compression of peritubular capillaries by the expanding tubular compartment are responsible for the reduction of RBF in vivo. renal blood flow; superficial blood flow; candesartan; decapsulation; tubular pressure; NKCC1 knockout LOOP DIURETICS LIKE FUROSEMIDE or bumetanide are widely used antihypertensive and diuretic drugs. Diuresis and loss of extracellular fluid result from an inhibitory interaction of the diuretics with the Na-K-2Cl cotransporter NKCC2, the major NaCl uptake pathway across the apical membrane of the thick ascending limb (TAL). In addition, loop diuretics also inhibit NKCC1, the second isoform of the Na-K-2Cl cotransporter that is more widely expressed than NKCC2 (11). In polarized cells, NKCC1 is typically located in the basolateral membrane, and NKCC1-mediated NaCl uptake therefore is an early step in transepithelial NaCl secretion. In nonpolarized cells, NKCC1 is believed to play a role in cell volume regulation and maintenance of membrane potential. NKCC1 is widely expressed in the vasculature, and inhibition of this transporter may account for direct vascular effects of loop diuretics that appear to be vasodilatory in most vascular beds (8). The interaction between the diuretics and the two different transporter isoforms occurs with similar a...