Effect of Tetrandrine on Resistance Vessels Remodeling in Renovas-cular Hypertensive Rats

Objective To study the character of vascular morphological changes and the preventive effect of tetrandrine in renovas-cular hypertensive(RH) rats. Mehtods: Renovascular hypertension was induced by two kidney one clip(2K1G) operation. Morphometumeasurements were performed m caudal artery, renal arterioles, and coronary arterioles. Results: The wet weight of aorta, caudalartery and femvral artery of RH rats(12 weeks after 2K1G operation) were greater than those of sham-operated rats. The parietalthickness, lumen caliber, and the ratio of parietal thickness to lumen caliber of abdomen aorta, caudal artery, coronary arterioles, and re-nal arterioles were significantly increased. There were no significant changes in the number of vascular smooth muscle cells(VSMC) inmost vessels, except the renal arterioles, where the number of VSMC was significantly increased. After the administration of tetrandine(50 mg ·?kg-1·?d-1 ,po) or enalapril (Ena, 6 mg ·kg-1·?d-1 ,po) for 8 weeks, the parietal thickness, the ratio uf parietal thickness to lumen caliber, and the wet weight were decreased. Conclusion : The most important change of arterioles is hypertrophic remodel-ing in the RH rats, with a proliferation of VSMC in renal arterioles, which may be prevented by tetrandrine and enalapril.