Effects of salt and stress on blood pressure parameters and antioxidant enzyme function in the heart and aorta of borderline hypertensive rats

What is the central question of this study? Although the involvement of reactive oxidative species in triggering hypertension has been documented, there are no data about the role of antioxidant enzymes in the heart and aorta of borderline hypertensive rats kept in baseline conditions or exposed to high salt with or without repeated stress. What is the main finding and its importance? In borderline hypertensive rats, high salt intake and stress contribute significantly to increase blood pressure and antioxidative defence in the aorta but decrease it in the heart. Elucidating the early changes that accompany elevated blood pressure could provide new therapeutical venues for prevention and treatment of the condition.Hypertension and its complications are a leading cause of death in the human population. Several factors can contribute to development of hypertension, such as genetic predisposition, high salt intake and environmental stressors, underlying oxidative stress as one of its key trademarks. We studied the effects of increased salt intake and chronic stress on blood pressure parameters and the activity and protein levels of antioxidant enzymes in the heart and aorta of borderline hypertensive rats (BHRs) with genetic susceptibility to hypertension. All animals were randomized into four groups: (1) Wistar rats kept in baseline conditions; (2) BHRs kept in baseline conditions; (3) BHRs drinking 0.9% saline solution; and (4) BHRs drinking 0.9% saline solution and exposed to repeated heterotypic stress. The BHRs exhibited significantly higher blood pressure, mitochondrial superoxide dismutase (SOD2) and catalase (CAT) protein levels and lower glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and glutathione reductase (GR) activities in the aorta, followed by lower CAT and GPx protein levels and higher CAT and GR activities in the heart, compared with normotensive Wistar rats. In the BHR aorta, high salt intake elevated CAT and GPx activities, and when combined with stress it increased GPx and GR activities. In BHR hearts, high salt intake provoked lower CAT activity. Adding repeated stress to salt treatment further decreased CAT activity, in addition to Cu2+ -Zn2+ superoxide dismutase (SOD1) and GR activities. The protein level of CAT was lower, whereas SOD2 and GPx increased. Overall, our results suggest that BHR hearts are better adapted to oxidative pressure, compared with the aorta, when exposed to salt and stress.