Acute unilateral renal denervation of control rats produced an ipsilateral diuresis (5.5 +/- 0.8 to 10.0 +/- 1.0 microliter/min, P less than 0.01) and natriuresis (579 +/- 202 to 2,668 +/- 225 neq/min, P less than 0.01) without a significant change in glomerular filtration rate or effective renal plasma flow. Inhibition of prostaglandin synthesis with indomethacin or meclofenamate (4 mg/kg iv) after acute unilateral denervation eliminated the diuresis (13.3 +/- 1.6 to 5.0 +/- 0.9 microliter/min, P less than 0.01) and attenuated the natriuresis (3,098 +/- 462 to 1,097 +/- 163 neq/min, P less than 0.01). Denervation diuresis and natriuresis were significantly impaired to the same extent when denervation was performed after inhibition of prostaglandin synthesis (3.2 +/- 0.3 to 4.9 +/- 0.4 microliter/min, NS; and 490 +/- 154 to 1,036 +/- 274 neq/min, P less than 0.05 vs. control, respectively). These results indicate that the natriuresis and diuresis seen after acute unilateral denervation in anesthetized rats are highly dependent upon prostaglandins and cannot be initiated or maintained when prostaglandin synthesis is impaired by indomethacin or meclofenamate.