The aim of the present study was to evaluate the hypothesis that the antihypertensive effects of inhibition of soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) are mediated by increased intrarenal availability of epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs), with consequent improvement in renal haemodynamic autoregulatory efficiency and the pressurenatriuresis relationship. Ren-2 transgenic rats (TGR), a model of angiotensin (Ang) II-dependent hypertension, and normotensive transgene-negative Hannover SpragueDawley (HanSD) rats were treated with the sEH inhibitor cis-4-(4-(3-adamantan-1-yl-ureido)cyclohexyloxy)benzoic acid (c-AUCB; 26mg/L) for 48h.
Then, the effects on blood pressure (BP), autoregulation of renal blood flow (RBF) and glomerular filtration rate (GFR), and on the pressurenatriuresis relationship in response to stepwise reductions in renal arterial pressure (RAP) were determined. Treatment with c-AUCB did not significantly change BP, renal autoregulation or pressure-natriuresis in normotensive HanSD rats.
In contrast, c-AUCB treatment significantly reduced BP, increased intrarenal bioavailability of EETs and significantly suppressed AngII levels in TGR. However, treatment with c-AUCB did not significantly improve the autoregulatory efficiency of RBF and GFR in response to reductions of RAP and to restore the blunted pressurenatriuresis relationship in TGR.
Together, the data indicate that the antihypertensive actions of sEH inhibition in TGR are predominantly mediated via significant suppression of intrarenal reninangiotensin system activity.