Abolition of autoregulation of renal blood flow by acetylcholine

Abstract

In order to study the mechanism of autoregulation of renal blood flow, 36 mongrel dogs were connected in parabiosis according to the Brull method. The following determinations were made: a) flow/pressure curves in innervated and denervated kidneys and b) acetylcholine and arterenol infusion in innervated kidneys. The critical closing pressure and the "run-off" index were also determined in all cases. The results of these experiments show the existence of renal blood flow autoregulation in innervated, denervated, and arterenol-infused kidneys, and the abolition of the autoregulatory mechanism in the acetylcholine-infused kidneys. The run-off index showed a better correlation with renal resistance than with critical closing pressure.