Renal medullary oxygenation decreases with lower body negative pressure in healthy young adults

One in three Americans suffer from kidney diseases such as chronic kidney disease, and one of the etiologies is suggested to be long-term renal hypoxia. Interestingly, sympathetic nervous system activation evokes a renal vasoconstrictor effect that may limit oxygen delivery to the kidney. In this report, we sought to determine if sympathetic activation evoked by lower body negative pressure (LBNP) would decrease cortical and medullary oxygenation in humans. LBNP was activated in a graded fashion (LBNP; -10, -20, and -30 mmHg), as renal oxygenation was measured (T2∗, blood oxygen level dependent, BOLD MRI; n = 8). At a separate time, renal blood flow velocity (RBV) to the kidney was measured (n = 13) as LBNP was instituted. LBNP significantly reduced RBV (P = 0.041) at -30mmHg of LBNP (Δ-8.17 ± 3.75 cm/s). Moreover, both renal medullary and cortical T2∗Were reduced with the graded LBNP application (main effect for the level of LBNP P = 0.0008). During recovery, RBV rapidly returned to baseline, whereas medullary T2∗Remained depressed into the first minute of recovery. In conclusion, sympathetic activation reduces renal blood flow and leads to a significant decrease in oxygenation in the renal cortex and medulla.