Endogenous dopa and dopamine responses to dietary salt loading in salt-sensitive rats.

We measured daily urinary excretion rates of dopamine and dopa during dietary salt loading and natriuretic responses to exogenous dopamine in Dahl salt-sensitive (DS), Dahl salt-resistant (DR) and Sprague-Dawley rats. Excretion rates of dopa increased approximately sixfold during salt loading in all rat strains. Maximal urinary dopa responses were attained within 1 day of salt loading. Daily excretion rates of dopamine also increased about five- to sixfold in DS and DR rats and about twofold in Sprague-Dawley rats, with maximal dopamine responses attained by day 5. Dopamine infusion (3 micrograms/kg per min) increased urinary sodium excretion by 406 +/- 132 % (mean +/- s.e.m.) in Sprague-Dawley rats but only 267 +/- 131% and 147 +/- 80% in DS and DR rats (P less than 0.05 for Sprague-Dawley versus Dahl rats). The results demonstrate that salt loading markedly and rapidly increases dopa excretion in rats. Considering values for dopamine excretion in other rat strains, the results suggest that Dahl rats have increased formation of dopamine for a given amount of dopa delivery to the kidney and that this abnormality is unrelated to salt-sensitive hypertension in DS rats. The results also provide in vivo support for the view that the responsiveness of renal dopamine receptors mediating natriuresis is related to production of endogenous dopamine in the kidney.