Effects of endothelin on systemic and renal haemodynamics and neuroendocrine hormones in conscious dogs

1. The effects of endothelin on systemic and renal haemodynamics and plasma concentrations of neuroendocrine hormones including plasma renin activity, aldosterone, adrenocorticotropic hormone, cortisol, catecholamines and arginine vasopressin were investigated in 18 conscious dogs. 2. Bolus injection of 4 pmol of endothelin/kg did not cause any significant changes in haemodynamics. Mean arterial pressure was elevated by both doses of 40 pmol/kg [91 ± 2 to 99 ± 2 mmHg (12.1 ± 0.3 to 13.2 ± 0.3 kPa), P < 0.05] or 200 pmol/kg [93 ± 2 to 107 ± 3 mmHg (12.4 ± 0.3 to 14.3 ± 0.4 kPa), P < 0.01], the latter dose increasing cardiac output (14%, P < 0.05) and heart rate (9%, P < 0.05), and the former reducing these parameters (14% and 8%, P < 0.05, respectively). 3. In contrast with the various changes in systemic haemodynamics, renal blood flow transiently increased immediately after bolus injection in a dose-dependent manner (28%, P < 0.05, 50%, P < 0.01 and 110%, P < 0.01 with 4, 40 and 200 pmol of endothelin/kg, respectively). This transient elevation of renal blood flow was followed by a gradual decrease (16%, P < 0.05; 31%, P < 0.01 and 36%, P < 0.01) at 10 min. 4. All neurohormones were elevated in a dose-dependent manner. 5. Among these hormones, arginine vasopressin and plasma renin activity reached a peak level at 5 min (from 2.21 ± 0.45 to 6.37 ± 0.60 pmol/l, P < 0.01, and from 0.65 ± 0.08 to 1.09 ± 0.10 pmol of angiotensin I h^-1 ml^-1 P < 0.01, respectively) after bolus injection of 200 pmol of endothelin/kg, whereas adrenocorticotropic hormone and cortisol reached a peak level at 15 min (from 6.0 ± 0.7 to 18.2 ± 1.5 pmol/l, P < 0.01, and from 4.4 ± 0.9 to 16.5 ± 2.7 x 10^-2 μmol/l, P < 0.01, respectively). 6. These results suggest that endothelin is a potent vasoconstrictive peptide in vivo with a marked effect on the renal vascular system, and that it induces elevation of vasoactive hormones directly and/or through central effects.