Pressure diuresis and natriuresis in DOCA-salt mice

The increasing use of mice in renal and cardiovascular studies has necessitated adapting physiological methods used for rats to mice, which are far smaller in size. We have adapted measurements of continuous renal blood flow, pressure natriuresis and diuresis, and laser-Doppler cortical and medullary flow to 40 g mice with DOCA-salt hypertension. We demonstrated a rightward shift in the pressure natriuresis-diuresis curve. We conclude that with current, commercially-available equipment, sophisticated renal physiology can be conducted in the mouse. These methods will be important to investigations of gene-targeted mice.