Vascular acetylcholine response during chronic NO synthase inhibition: in vivo versus in vitro

Induction of Inducible Nitric Oxide Synthase by Lipopolysaccharide and the Influences of Cell Volume Changes, Stress Hormones and Oxidative Stress on Nitric Oxide Efflux from the Perfused Liver of Air-Breathing Catfish, Heteropneustes fossilis

The air-breathing singhi catfish (Heteropneustes fossilis) is frequently being challenged by bacterial contaminants, and different environmental insults like osmotic, hyper-ammonia, dehydration and oxidative stresses in its natural habitats throughout the year. The main objectives of the present investigation were to determine (a) the possible induction of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) gene with enhanced production of nitric oxide (NO) by intra-peritoneal injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) (a bacterial endotoxin), and (b) to determine the effects of hepatic cell volume changes due to anisotonicity or by infusion of certain metabolites, stress hormones and by induction of oxidative stress on production of NO from the iNOS-induced perfused liver of singhi catfish. Intra-peritoneal injection of LPS led to induction of iNOS gene and localized tissue specific expression of iNOS enzyme with more production and accumulation of NO in different tissues of singhi catfish. Further, changes of hydration status/cell volume, caused either by anisotonicity or by infusion of certain metabolites such as glutamine plus glycine and adenosine, affected the NO production from the perfused liver of iNOS-induced singhi catfish. In general, increase of hydration status/cell swelling due to hypotonicity caused decrease, and decrease of hydration status/cell shrinkage due to hypertonicity caused increase of NO efflux from the perfused liver, thus suggesting that changes in hydration status/cell volume of hepatic cells serve as a potent modulator for regulating the NO production. Significant increase of NO efflux from the perfused liver was also observed while infusing the liver with stress hormones like epinephrine and norepinephrine, accompanied with decrease of hydration status/cell volume of hepatic cells. Further, oxidative stress, caused due to infusion of t-butyl hydroperoxide and hydrogen peroxide separately, in the perfused liver of singhi catfish, resulted in significant increase of NO efflux accompanied with decrease of hydration status/cell volume of hepatic cells. However, the reasons for these cell volume-sensitive changes of NO efflux from the liver of singhi catfish are not fully understood with the available data. Nonetheless, enhanced or decreased production of NO from the perfused liver under osmotic stress, in presence of stress hormones and oxidative stress reflected its potential role in cellular homeostasis and also for better adaptations under environmental challenges. This is the first report of osmosensitive and oxidative stress-induced changes of NO production and efflux from the liver of any teleosts. Further, the level of expression of iNOS in this singhi catfish could also serve as an important indicator to determine the pathological status of the external environment.

Telmisartan prevents the glitazone-induced weight gain without interfering with its insulin-sensitizing properties

Glitazones are peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-gamma agonists with powerful insulin-sensitizing properties. They promote the development of metabolically active adipocytes that can lead to a substantial gain in fat mass. Telmisartan is an ANG II type 1 receptor antagonist with partial PPAR-gamma agonistic properties. Recently, telmisartan has been reported to prevent weight gain and improve insulin sensitivity in diet-induced obese rodents. The goal of this study was to examine the influence of telmisartan on pioglitazone-induced weight gain and insulin-sensitizing properties in the following two models of insulin resistance: a nongenetic model (high-fat-fed Sprague Dawley rats) and the genetically obese fa/fa Zucker rat. After a 4-wk treatment, the pioglitazone-induced increase in fat mass was modest in the Sprague Dawley rats and severe in the Zucker rats. In both models, these effects were substantially decreased by concomitant treatment with telmisartan. The effects of telmisartan on body weight and fat mass in the Zucker rats were abolished by pair feeding, suggesting that it is the result of a decrease in food intake. Telmisartan did not interfere with the insulin-sensitizing properties of pioglitazone. This study demonstrates that telmisartan attenuates the glitazone-induced increase in fat mass without interfering with its insulin-sensitizing properties.

The PPARgamma agonist pioglitazone modifies the vascular sodium-angiotensin II relationship in insulin-resistant rats

Glitazones are efficient insulin sensitizers that blunt the effects of angiotensin II (ANG II) in the rat. Sodium chloride is another important modulator of the systemic and renal effects of ANG II. Whether glitazones interfere with the interaction between sodium and the response to ANG II is not known. Therefore, we investigated the effects of pioglitazone on the relationship between sodium and the systemic and renal effects of ANG II in rats. Pioglitazone, or vehicle, was administered for 4 wk to 8-wk-old obese Zucker rats. Animals were fed a normal-sodium (NS) or a high-sodium (HS) diet. Intravenous glucose tolerance tests, systemic and renal hemodynamic responses to ANG II, and the renal ANG II binding and expression of ANG II type 1 (AT(1)) receptors were measured. The results of our study were that food intake and body weight increased, whereas blood pressure, heart rate, filtration fraction, and insulin levels decreased significantly with pioglitazone in obese rats on both diets. Pioglitazone blunted the systemic response to ANG II and abolished the increased responsiveness to ANG II induced by a HS diet. Pioglitazone modified the renal hemodynamic response to changes in salt intake while maintaining a lower filtration fraction with ANG II perfusion. These effects were associated with a decrease in the number and expression of the AT(1) receptor in the kidney. In conclusion, these data demonstrate that the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma agonist pioglitazone modifies the physiological relationship between sodium chloride and the response to ANG II in insulin-resistant rats.

Acetylcholine and bradykinin enhance hypotension and affect the function of remodeled conduit arteries in SHR and SHR treated with nitric oxide donors

Discrepancy was found between enhanced hypotension and attenuated relaxation of conduit arteries in response to acetylcholine (ACh) and bradykinin (BK) in nitric oxide (NO)-deficient hypertension. The question is whether a similar phenomenon occurs in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) with a different pathogenesis. Wistar rats, SHR, and SHR treated with NO donors [molsidomine (50 mg/kg) or pentaerythritol tetranitrate (100 mg/kg), twice a day, by gavage] were studied. After 6 weeks of treatment systolic blood pressure (BP) was increased significantly in experimental groups. Under anesthesia, the carotid artery was cannulated for BP recording and the jugular vein for drug administration. The iliac artery was used for in vitro studies and determination of geometry. Compared to control, SHR showed a significantly enhanced (P < 0.01) hypotensive response to ACh (1 and 10 microg, 87.9 +/- 6.9 and 108.1 +/- 5.1 vs 35.9 +/- 4.7 and 64.0 +/- 3.3 mmHg), and BK (100 microg, 106.7 +/- 8.3 vs 53.3 +/- 5.2 mmHg). SHR receiving NO donors yielded similar results. In contrast, maximum relaxation of the iliac artery in response to ACh was attenuated in SHR (12.1 +/- 3.6 vs 74.2 +/- 8.6% in controls, P < 0.01). Iliac artery inner diameter also increased (680 +/- 46 vs 828 +/- 28 microm in controls, P < 0.01). Wall thickness, wall cross-section area, wall thickness/inner diameter ratio increased significantly (P < 0.01). No differences were found in this respect among SHR and SHR treated with NO donors. These findings demonstrated enhanced hypotension and attenuated relaxation of the conduit artery in response to NO activators in SHR and in SHR treated with NO donors, a response similar to that found in NO-deficient hypertension.

Nitric oxide synthase inhibition exaggerates the hypotensive response to ghrelin: role of calcium-activated potassium channels

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the mechanism underlying the observation that infusion of the growth hormone secretagogue peptide, ghrelin, produces a decrease in mean arterial pressure (MAP) with no change in heart rate.

METHOD

The effect of a single bolus infusion of ghrelin (12 nmol/kg intravenously) on the changes in MAP and heart rate was determined in 12-week-old male anaesthetized Sprague-Dawley rats subjected to pretreatment with either the nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibitor, N-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME; 0.7 mg/ml by mouth for 5 days), or vehicle (control).

RESULTS

Ghrelin produced a significant decrease in MAP at 20 min (P < 0.05) after infusion in the control group, without any change in heart rate. The MAP recovered partially over 1 h. The ghrelin-evoked decrease in MAP was much greater (P < 0.01) and was sustained for 1 h in rats subjected to NOS inhibition. Pretreatment with the cyclo-oxygenase inhibitor, indomethacin, failed to affect the responses in either group. Intravenous infusion of 50 mug/kg each of apamin and charybdotoxin (ChTX), a combination that is known to block Ca-activated K channels or the endothelium-derived hyperpolarization process, attenuated the decrease in MAP evoked by ghrelin in both control and NOS-inhibited rats. A sodium nitroprusside-induced decrease in MAP was unaffected in the presence of apamin-ChTX, but acetylcholine-evoked hypotension was significantly reduced in both groups.

CONCLUSION

These data suggest that the Ca-activated, K-channel-mediated, ghrelin-evoked decrease in MAP may be significant in states of endothelial dysfunction associated with reduced nitric oxide availability.

[Endothelium-derived factors in hypertensive blood vessels, especially nitric oxide and hypertension]

Endothelium-dependent relaxation (EDR) in the blood vessels of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and the role of nitric oxide (NO) in the initiation of hypertension are reviewed. EDR was impaired in blood vessels of SHR depending on age and degree of hypertension when compared with those of normotensive rats. The cause of the impairment varied among the type of blood vessels: a decrease in the production of NO and endothelium-derived relaxing factor (EDRF) and an increase in the production of endothelium-derived contracting factor (EDCF) are the main causes of the impairment in large arteries, while a decrease in endothelium-dependent hyperpolarization and increased release of EDCF are the main causes of the impairment in small arteries. Interactions among these endothelium-derived factors and changes in the interactions are also causes of impairment. Superoxide may be involved in the impairment of EDR by destroying NO. The endothelium depresses smooth muscle contraction, including spontaneous tone developed in vascular smooth muscle, and the depressing effect of the endothelium is impaired in the preparations from SHR. The endothelium of blood vessels of SHR are structurally injured as demonstrated by scanning electron microscopy. Antihypertensive treatment prevented these functional and structural changes. Chronic treatment with inhibitors of NO production in normotensive rats impaired EDR and elevated blood pressure. The impairment of EDR is a secondary change due to continued hypertension, and early initiation of antihypertensive therapy is recommended.

Influence of L-nitro-arginine methyl ester, acetylcholine, and adenosine on mean blood pressure, pulse pressure, and pulse pressure amplification in rats

The blood pressure pattern in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) involves three main characteristics: increase in mean blood pressure (MBP); increase in thoracic aorta (proximal) and iliac (distal) pulse pressure (PP); disappearance of the normal PP amplification between the proximal and the distal arteries. Whether pharmacologic agents may reduce MBP with different or even opposite effects regarding PP and PP amplification has been poorly investigated. In SHRs and Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) anesthetized rats, the NO inhibitor l-nitro-arginine methyl ester (l-NAME) was infused at the dosage of 1 mg/kg for 30 min. Before and after infusion, 7 microg/kg/min acetylcholine (Ach) and 200 mg/kg adenosine (Ado) were perfused for 4 min. Proximal and distal intra-arterial BP was monitored throughout the procedure. In both WKYs and SHRs, l-NAME increased proximal and distal systolic (SBP), diastolic (DBP), and MBP but not PP. Before l-NAME, SBP, DBP, and MBP were significantly reduced by Ado and Ach. After l-NAME, such blood pressure reductions were abolished with Ach but not Ado. In both strains, the proximal and distal PP, when expressed in percent reduction of MBP, were significantly higher under Ado than under Ach. The Ado but not Ach changed PP amplification, causing a reduction in WKYs and an increase in SHRs independent of l-NAME. Vasodilating agents may reduce MBP with significantly different effects on PP. The Ado alters PP amplification, an effect not obtained with the nitric oxide endothelium-dependent vasorelaxing agent Ach. Tail SBP measurements cannot predict such dissociated changes.

Long-term vascular effects of Nomega-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester are not soley mediated by inhibition of endothelial nitric oxide synthesis in the rat mesenteric artery

Nomega-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME), one of the synthetic L-arginine analogues with inhibitory effects of nitric oxide (NO) synthesis, is now widely used to examine the role of NO in various organs. We and others demonstrated that long-term treatment with L-NAME causes hypertension and cardiovascular lesions (perivascular fibrosis and medial thickening), especially at microvascular levels. However, convincing evidence is still lacking that these long-term cardiovascular effects of L-NAME are solely mediated by the inhibition of the synthesis of endothelium-derived NO (EDNO). This study was thus designed to better understand the effects of long-term treatment with L-NAME with special reference to EDNO synthesis. Male Wister-Kyoto rats were orally administered L-NAME for 8 weeks. Blood pressure significantly increased at 3 days and 1 and 8 weeks of the treatment. Endothelium-dependent relaxations to acetylcholine (ACh) of the aorta were reduced 3 days after the treatment, recovered at 1 week, and again reduced at 8 weeks, whereas the relaxations of the small mesenteric artery were unaltered throughout the experimental periods. At 8 weeks, indomethacin-sensitive, endothelium-dependent contractions to ACh were noted. The relative contributions of NO and endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor also were unchanged. Citrulline assay demonstrated that substantial levels of constitutive NO synthase activity remained in the aorta during the experiments. The long-term treatment with L-NAME caused perivascular fibrosis and medial thickening, not only in the aorta but also in the mesenteric artery. These results suggest that mechanism(s) other than simple inhibition of EDNO synthesis is involved in the long-term cardiovascular effects of L-NAME in the rat mesenteric artery.

Acetylcholine-induced relaxation in blood vessels from endothelial nitric oxide synthase knockout mice

1. Isometric tension was recorded in isolated rings of aorta, carotid, coronary and mesenteric arteries taken from endothelial nitric oxide synthase knockout mice (eNOS(-/-) mice) and the corresponding wild-type strain (eNOS(+/+) mice). The membrane potential of smooth muscle cells was measured in coronary arteries with intracellular microelectrodes. 2. In the isolated aorta, carotid and coronary arteries from the eNOS(+/+) mice, acetylcholine induced an endothelium-dependent relaxation which was inhibited by N(omega)-L-nitro-arginine. In contrast, in the mesenteric arteries, the inhibition of the cholinergic relaxation required the combination of N(omega)-L-nitro-arginine and indomethacin. 3. The isolated aorta, carotid and coronary arteries from the eNOS(-/-) mice did not relax in response to acetylcholine. However, acetylcholine produced an indomethacin-sensitive relaxation in the mesenteric artery from eNOS(-/-) mice. 4. The resting membrane potential of smooth muscle cells from isolated coronary arteries was significantly less negative in the eNOS(-/-) mice (-64.8 +/- 1.8 mV, n = 20 and -58.4 +/- 1.9 mV, n = 17, for eNOS(+/+) and eNOS(-/-) mice, respectively). In both strains, acetylcholine, bradykinin and substance P did not induce endothelium-dependent hyperpolarizations whereas cromakalim consistently produced hyperpolarizations (- 7.9 +/- 1.1 mV, n = 8 and -13.8 +/- 2.6 mV, n = 4, for eNOS(+/+) and eNOS(-/-) mice, respectively). 5. These findings demonstrate that in the blood vessels studied: (1) in the eNOS(+/+) mice, the endothelium-dependent relaxations to acetylcholine involve either NO or the combination of NO plus a product of cyclo-oxygenase but not EDHF; (2) in the eNOS(-/-) mice, NO-dependent responses and EDHF-like responses were not observed. In the mesenteric arteries acetylcholine releases a cyclo-oxygenase derivative.

The contribution of nitric oxide to cardiovascular status and responses to vasodilators in conscious, hypertensive, transgenic ((mRen-2)27) rats

1. The aim of the study was to measure the regional haemodynamic responses to vasodilators, and the effects of nitric oxide (NO) synthase inhibition, in conscious, hypertensive, transgenic ((mRen-2)27) rats (TG rats) and normotensive, Hannover Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats. 2. The hypotensive response to acetylcholine was greater in TG than in SD rats, but the renal vasodilator responses were not different. 3. The responses to bradykinin were similar in the two strains, except that hindquarters vasodilatation occurred only in SD rats. 4. Salbutamol caused smaller renal and hindquarters vasodilatation in TG rats than in SD rats, and there was mesenteric vasodilatation only in the latter strain. 5. The hypotensive response to sodium nitroprusside was smaller, but the accompanying mesenteric vasodilatation was greater, in SD than in TG rats. 6. The contribution of NO to the vasodilator responses was taken as the difference between the responses in the presence of the NO synthase inhibitor, NG-nitro-L-arginine methylester (L-NAME), compared to those in the presence of a co-infusion of angiotensin II and vasopressin (to match the haemodynamic effects of L-NAME). 7. In TG rats, L-NAME caused a greater absolute pressor effect, but a smaller mesenteric vasoconstriction, than in SD rats. 8. L-NAME affected the vasodilator responses to all the challenges similarly in the two strains. 9. Collectively, the results provide no direct evidence for impaired NO-mediated vasodilator mechanisms in TG rats. It is feasible that the reduced hindquarters response to bradykinin and the reduced renal and hindquarters responses to salbutamol, in TG rats are due to abnormal beta2-adrenoceptor-mediated processes.

Inhibition of nitric oxide generation unmasks vascular dysfunction in insulin-resistant, obese JCR:LA-cp rats

1. The effects of nitric oxide (NO) on vascular reactivity and platelet function in the obese (cp/cp) and lean (+/?) JCR:LA-cp rats were investigated. 2. Phenylephrine (PE; 0.1 nM-10 microM) induced contraction of isolated aortic rings in both genotypes (cp/cp and +/?) of JCR:LA-cp rats. The sensitivity to contraction with PE was enhanced in cp/cp compared with +/? rings. Rings from both genotypes showed an increased contraction upon removal of the endothelium. 3. Acetylcholine (ACh; 0.1 nM-10 microM)-induced endothelium-dependent relaxation of rings was not significantly different in the two genotypes. Both were inhibited to a similar extent by NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME; 0.01-1 mM) when administered in vitro. 4. The nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibitor (L-NAME; 0.3, 1 or 3 mg ml(-1), p.o.) when administered in vivo increased blood pressure in cp/cp rats but not in +/? rats. 5. L-NAME resulted in greater inhibition of ACh-induced relaxation in cp/cp rings compared with +/? rings. 6. L-NAME treatment in vivo caused a decrease in cyclic GMP and NOS activity in rings from cp/cp but not +/? rats. 7. The NO donor, S-nitroso-N-acetyl-DL-penicillamine (SNAP; 0.1 nM-10 microM)-induced relaxation of rings from +/? rats, an effect enhanced by the treatment with L-NAME in vivo. 8. Oral administration of L-NAME did not enhance the vasorelaxant effect of SNAP on rings of aorta from cp/cp animals. 9. Platelet aggregation and NOS activity were similar in both genotypes and were not modified by oral administration of L-NAME. 10. These results show that unimpaired generation of NO is crucial for maintenance of vascular tone particularly under conditions of vascular insult exemplified by insulin resistance, obesity and dyslipidemia detected in cp/cp rats.

Prostaglandins reduce the contractile responses to noradrenaline and angiotensin II in canine femoral arteries after but not before chronic inhibition of nitric oxide synthesis

This study was designed to compare the contractile responses to graded concentrations of noradrenaline (1 nM-100 microM) and angiotensin II (0.1-100 nM) of femoral arteries isolated from normal control dogs and from dogs after long-term inhibition of nitric oxide (NO) by N(omega)-nitro-L-arginine (L-NNA; 20 mg/kg/day for 7 days). Maximal contraction to noradrenaline was similar in rings obtained from control and L-NNA-treated dogs. In the latter, however, sensitivity to noradrenaline was reduced compared with control rings, whether the endothelium was present [50% effective concentration (EC50) = 6.04 +/- 0.06 vs. 6.37 +/- 0.08; p < 0.01] or absent (EC50 = 6.00 +/- 0.11 vs. 6.45 +/- 0.05; p < 0.01). Indomethacin reversed this hyporesponsiveness to noradrenaline in arteries obtained from L-NNA-treated dogs but had no effect in rings isolated from control dogs. An almost complete inhibition of the contractile response to angiotensin II, also reversed by indomethacin, was observed in arteries taken from L-NNA-treated dogs both in the presence and in the absence of endothelium. These results suggest that the cyclooxygenase pathway might be upregulated in the smooth muscle cells of canine femoral arteries after long-term inhibition of NO synthesis and that relaxing prostanoids mediate the hypocontractile response of these arteries to both noradrenaline and angiotensin II.