To determine the relationship between hyperinsulinemia and hypertension in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR), the antihyperglycemic agent metformin was administered to SHR and their Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) controls, and its effects on plasma insulin levels and blood pressure were examined. Five-week-old rats were started on oral metformin treatment (350 mg.kg-1.day-1, which was gradually increased to 500 mg.kg-1.day-1 over a 2-wk period). Metformin treatment caused sustained decreases in plasma insulin levels in the SHR (27.1 +/- 2.3 vs. untreated SHR 53.5 +/- 2.7 microU/ml, P < 0.001) without having any effect in the WKY (30.7 +/- 2.2 vs. untreated WKY 37.8 +/- 1.6 microU/ml, P > 0.05). The treatment did not affect the plasma glucose levels in any group. Metformin treatment also attenuated the increase in systolic blood pressure in the SHR (157 +/- 6.0 vs. untreated SHR 196 +/- 9.0 mmHg, P < 0.001) but had no effect in the WKY (134 +/- 3 vs. untreated WKY 136 +/- 4 mmHg, P > 0.05). Furthermore, raising plasma insulin levels in the metformin-treated SHR to levels that existed in the untreated SHR reversed the effect of metformin on blood pressure (189 +/- 3 vs. untreated SHR 208 +/- 5.0 mmHg, P > 0.05). These findings suggest that either hyperinsulinemia may contribute toward the increase in blood pressure in the SHR or that the underlying mechanism is closely associated with the expression of both these disorders.