Event Title

Effects of Impaired Aldosterone Secretion on Hypertension Development in the Spontaneously Hypertensive Rat (SHR).

Presenter Information

Erica Moore, Minnesota State University, Mankato

Location

CSU 202

Start Date

21-4-2008 10:00 AM

End Date

21-4-2008 12:00 PM

Student's Major

Biological Sciences

Student's College

Science, Engineering and Technology

Mentor's Name

Penny Knoblich

Mentor's Department

Biological Sciences

Mentor's College

Science, Engineering and Technology

Description

Hypertension, or high blood pressure, may result in part form aldosterone, a hormone secreted from the outermost layer of the adrenal cortex. Aldosterone acts on the kidney to increase sodium retention, thus raising blood volume and blood pressure. The adrenal cortex produces a second hormone, corticosterone, critical in the body's response to stress. To investigate the effect ofreduced aldosterone but normal corticosterone in the development of hypertension, a rat model, the spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR), was chosen. Rats had one adrenal grand removed, and the outer layer of the other gland frozen. This procedure has been previously shown to reduce aldosterone but not corticosterone. Control rats underwent a sham procedure. The effect of this procedure has previously been investigated using tail cuff blood pressures. However, rats must be restrained for this data collection, and thus are stressed. The current study investigated the blood pressure effects of reduced aldosterone in young SHR, who are implanted with a remote monitoring device. The device sends radio signals to a computer, which then records the blood pressure and heart rate while the rat is freely moving about the cage, eliminating the confounding effect of confinement stress. Rats were subjected to the adrenal freezing procedure at 5-6 weeks of age, allowed 2-3 weeks to recover, and then were implanted with the remote monitoring device. Data was collected for subsequent 3-4 week period.