Contribution of prostaglandins to the renal circulation in conscious, anesthetized, and laparotomized dogs.

The effects of an inhibitor of prostaglandin (PG) synthetase, indomethacin, were studied on renal blood flow (RBF) and mean aortic blood pressure (MABP) and related to changes in concentrations of PGs in renal venous blood under widely different experimental conditions. Although levels of PGE-like material ("PGE") in renal venous blood of the chloralose-anesthetized-laparotomized dog were 8-fold greater than in conscious dogs, viz., 0.39 vs. 0.05 ng/ml of blood, respectively, RBF and MABP were similar for each group. Indomethacin in doses as high as 10 mg/kg, iv, affected neither RBF, MABP, nor PG levels either in the conscious dog or in the anesthetized dog. However, in the anesthetized-laparotomized dog, smaller doses of indomethacin (2 mg/kg, iv) decreased RBF by more than 40% and increased MABP by 15%. This was associated with a decline in concentration of renal venous PGs to those levels observed in conscious dogs. The principal renal PG varied according to the experimental conditions. The venous levels of "PGF" were greater than "PGE" in conscious dogs, whereas in acutely stressed dogs the renal venous concentrations of "PGE" were more than 2-fold those of "PGF". Plasma renin activity was highly correlated with "PGE" levels in renal venous blood, but not with "PGF" levels. Thus, in the acutely stressed dog, the renal circulation is supported by a major PG component, withdrawal of which results in a decline in RBF. In contrast, in the conscious dog at rest, renal PGs do not appear to contribute significantly to RBF. The significance of the small basal release of PGs into the renal venous effluent of the conscious dog, which is not affected by indomethacin, remains to be determined.