Relationship between the Changes of Catecholamines and Blood Pressure Induced by Exposure to Low- and High-levels of Lead in Rats

In this study, it was tested whether the changes of catecholamines and its metabolites are related with the changes of blood pressure(BP) induced by different levels of lead exposure. Adult male SD rats were exposed to lead by giving drinking water containing 50(low doses), 200 and 1,000 ppm(high doses) of lead(as lead acetate) or sodium acetate(for control groups, supplying an identical amount of acetate) for 7 or 16 weeks. The systolic BP was measured in the unanesthetized state by the tail-cuff technique. Levels of catecholamines and its metabolites in urine were measured by HPLC-ECD. Rats receiving 200 and 1,000 ppm developed an elevation of systolic BP at 3 and 7 weeks compared with week 0, but blood pressure levels at 16 weeks returned to normal. For the 50 ppm lead treated group, systolic BP increased significantly at 7 weeks and 16 weeks. The concentrations of norepinephrine and VMA in the urine of lead exposed rats changed similarly to the changes of blood pressure, but blood viscosity levels in all lead treated rats increased continuously during all lead treatment periods. This result suggests that the changes of catecholamines and its metabolites in urine by lead intoxication may influence the changes of blood pressure.