Renal function in pregnant rats with two-kidney goldblatt hypertension

This study was carried out in female Wistar-Münich rats with two-kidney, one-clip hypertension, using clipped normotensive rats as controls. Metabolic studies were performed in the first two weeks of pregnancy, consisting of daily measurement of systolic blood pressure (BP) (tail-cuff), body weight (BW), and salt and water balance. At the end of metabolic studies, glomerular dynamics were studied in the unclipped kidney by micropuncture. During pregnancy, urinary output of Na+ and water was greater in hypertensive than normotensive rats. The greater natriuresis accounted for a reduced Na+ retention and a lower increase in maternal BW. Micropuncture studies showed an impaired renal auto-regulation. These results show that hypertension in pregnancy causes a salt-losing tendency, that may be secondary to incomplete renal autoregulation.