The chronic reduction of arterial blood pressure by thiazide diuretics (TZD) in hypertensive patients is mediated through an extra-renal mechanism. It is widely held that this extra-renal mechanism is a direct TZD inhibition of vasoconstriction. This study tested whether the TZD, hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ), inhibited agonist constriction of mesenteric arterioles ex vivo. Mice deficient in the kidney distal convoluted tubule Na+/Cl- cotransporter (NCC), i.e., the target of thiazide inhibition-mediated diuresis, and wild type (WT), were subjected to Na+-restricted diet. Mesenteric arterioles from NCC knockout and WT mice were then isolated, placed under constant pressure, and the inhibitory effects of HCTZ (100 μM) on phenylephrine constriction determined. HCTZ did not inhibit phenylephrine constriction of arterioles from NCC knockout and wild type (WT) mice subjected to Na+-restricted diet. This study suggests that future investigations to identify the extra-renal site of chronic TZD treatment should (1) focus on indirect inhibition of vascular constriction and (2) be determined under clinically relevant conditions. These conditions include chronic TZD at relevant concentrations in hypertensive animals.
Keywords: Constriction; Hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ); Mesentery; Na+/Cl− cotransporter (NCC); Phenylephrine.