Intracellular Na+ and Ca2+ in aortic smooth muscle cells after enzymatic isolation in spontaneously hypertensive rats.

In aortic smooth muscle cells from spontaneously hypertensive and normotensive rats, which were separated from the blood vessels by enzymatic digestion, intracellular Na+ and Ca2+ activities were measured. The determinations were made by ion-selective electrodes. In smooth muscle cells from spontaneously hypertensive rats intracellular Na+ and Ca2+ activities were elevated as compared to cells from normotensive rats (P less than 0.001 for Na+ and P less than 0.01 for Ca2+). Since in cultured aortic smooth muscle cells from spontaneously hypertensive rats intracellular Ca2+ is known to be not significantly increased, primarily humoral factors may account for the changes in intracellular Ca2+ reported.