Recent studies in our laboratory indicated that a blunted (40-50%) renal excretory response to isotonic intravenous saline loads occurred in conscious, renal-denervated dogs after 70% of the atrial mass was removed. The blunted responses could not be explained by differences in the responses of arterial pressure, renal nerve activity, or by measured changes of plasma immunoreactive atrial natriuretic peptide (iANP), arginine vasopressin (AVP), plasma renin activity (PRA), or aldosterone (Aldo). The present study was designed to determine whether the central nervous system (CNS) was the source of an unidentified substance, which could account for the blunting of the urine excretory response seen in the atrial-resected dogs. Renal denervation was performed in all dogs to eliminate alterations in efferent renal sympathetic nerve activity derived from reflexes activated during volume expansion. Cardiac denervation (CDX) was used to eliminate sensory cardiac afferent nerve activity to the CNS. A group of five renal-denervated dogs was given an isotonic volume load (400 ml/30 min) before and after complete CDX. Plasma AVP was fixed at normal plasma levels of 3 pg/ml by continuous intravenous infusion. Na and H2O excretion were not different in renal-denervated dogs compared with combined renal and cardiac denervation during the 5 h after the saline load. Plasma AVP and Aldo were unchanged with the volume loads, although PRA rose gradually over the 5 h after the saline loads. Plasma iANP increased transiently in the combined renal and cardiac-denervated state rising from a control of 65-120 pg/ml at the end of the load period.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)