To determine whether the increase in renin secretion rate (RSR) produced by the beta 2-adrenoceptor agonist epinephrine was dependent on intact renal innervation, epinephrine (10 ng X kg-1 X min-1) was infused bilaterally into an innervated and a denervated kidney (ira) of the same anesthetized dog at spontaneous and reduced renal arterial pressure (decreases RAP, 100 mmHg). Epinephrine ira did not affect mean arterial pressure, renal hemodynamics, or urinary sodium excretion of either kidney. At spontaneous RAP epinephrine ira increased RSR from 633 +/- 134 to 926 +/- 137 ng/min in innervated kidneys but did not change RSR in denervated kidneys. decreases RAP in the presence of epinephrine ira resulted in an increase in RSR from 969 +/- 248 to 2,564 +/- 630 ng/min in innervated kidneys, which was greater than that produced in the absence of epinephrine, from 741 +/- 244 to 1,606 +/- 431 ng/min. In denervated kidneys decreases RAP resulted in similar increases in RSR in the absence and presence of epinephrine ira from 41 +/- 15 to 166 +/- 60 ng/min and from 59 +/- 210 to 235 +/- 78 ng/min, respectively. These results demonstrate that the increase in RSR produced by epinephrine is dependent on intact renal innervation at spontaneous and decreases RAP and suggest that epinephrine increases RSR by a prejunctional mechanism. The beta 1-adrenoceptor antagonist metoprolol (0.3-0.5 microgram X kg-1 X min-1 ira) abolished the enhanced RSR response to decreases RAP produced by epinephrine ira. Similarly, the beta 2-adrenoceptor antagonist ICI 118551 (0.005-0.25 microgram X kg-1 X min-1 ira) abolished the enhanced RSR response to decreases RAP produced by epinephrine.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)