NG-methyl-L-arginine causes endothelium-dependent contraction and inhibition of cyclic GMP formation in artery and vein.

The objective of this study was to determine whether the vascular smooth muscle contractile effect of NG-methyl-L-arginine (NMA) is endothelium dependent and attributed to a decline in smooth muscle levels of cyclic GMP. Vascular smooth muscle levels of cyclic GMP are severalfold greater in endothelium-intact than in endothelium-denuded preparations because of the continuous formation and release of a lipophilic endothelium-derived chemical factor that diffuses into the underlying smooth muscle and activates cytosolic guanylate cyclase. This chemical substance, believed to be nitric oxide (NO) or a labile nitroso precursor, appears to account for the biological actions of endothelium-derived relaxing factor. NMA inhibits the formation of NO from endogenous L-arginine in endothelial cells. In the present study, NMA caused marked endothelium-dependent contraction of isolated rings of bovine pulmonary artery and vein, and this was similar to the contraction elicited by hemoglobin, an inhibitor of the relaxant action of NO. Both NMA and hemoglobin caused endothelium-dependent potentiation of contractile responses to phenylephrine in artery and vein. NMA caused endothelium-dependent decreases in the resting or basal levels of cyclic GMP in artery and vein to levels that were characteristic of those in endothelium-denuded vessels. Finally, NMA inhibited endothelium-dependent relaxant responses and cyclic GMP formation stimulated by acetylcholine and bradykinin. These observations reveal that interference with the continuous or basal generation of endothelium-derived NO in artery and vein can cause marked increases in vascular smooth muscle tone as a result of inhibition of cyclic GMP formation.     

Endothelium-derived relaxing factor from pulmonary artery and vein possesses pharmacologic and chemical properties identical to those of nitric oxide radical

The objective of this study was to elucidate the close similarity in properties between endothelium-derived relaxing factor (EDRF) and nitric oxide radical (NO). Whenever possible, a comparison was also made between arterial and venous EDRF. In vascular relaxation experiments, acetylcholine and bradykinin were used as endothelium-dependent relaxants of isolated rings of bovine intrapulmonary artery and vein, respectively, and NO was used to relax endothelium-denuded rings. Oxyhemoglobin produced virtually identical concentration-dependent inhibitory effects on both endothelium-dependent and NO-elicited relaxation. Oxyhemoglobin and oxymyoglobin lowered cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) levels, increased tone in unrubbed artery and vein, and abolished the marked accumulation of vascular cGMP caused both by endothelium-dependent relaxants and by NO. The marked inhibitory effects of oxyhemoglobin on arterial and venous relaxant responses and cGMP accumulation as well as its contractile effects were abolished or reversed by carbon monoxide. These observations indicate that EDRF and NO possess identical properties in their interactions with oxyhemoproteins. Both EDRF from artery and vein and NO activated purified soluble guanylate cyclase by heme-dependent mechanisms, thereby revealing an additional similarity in heme interactions. Spectrophotometric analysis disclosed that the characteristic shift in the Soret peak for hemoglobin produced by NO was also produced by an endothelium-derived factor released from washed aortic endothelial cells by acetylcholine or A23187. Pyrogallol, via the action of superoxide anion, markedly inhibited the spectral shifts, relaxant effects, and cGMP accumulating actions produced by both EDRF and NO. Superoxide dismutase enhanced the relaxant and cGMP accumulating effects of both EDRF and NO. Thus, EDRF and NO are inactivated by superoxide in a closely similar manner. We conclude, therefore, that EDRF from artery and vein is either NO or a chemically related radical species.     

Effects of atrial natriuretic polypeptide and organic nitrates on levels of relaxation and cyclic nucleotide of canine coronary artery with and without endothelial injury

Summary We studied the effects of organic nitrates and human atrial natriuretic polypeptide (hANP) on relaxation and tissue cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) levels using isolated canine coronary arteries with and without endothelial injury. Glyceryl trinitrate (GTN), isosorbide dinitrate (ISDN), pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN), and hANP relaxed both the injured and control coronary arteries, and they increased tissue cGMP levels in a dose-dependent fashion without changing tissue adenosine 3 : 5-cyclic phosphate (cAMP) levels. The extent of relaxation was larger and the increase in cGMP was greater in the injured coronary artery than in the control artery.Methylene blue inhibited relaxation induced by GTN and hANP, and decreased tissue cGMP levels in both the injured and control groups. M&B 22,948 enhanced relaxation induced by GTN and hANP and increased tissue cGMP levels in both groups.The results suggest that organic nitrates and hANP relax the coronary artery by directly activating the guanylate cyclase in coronary smooth muscle and that such activation is independent of the endothelium-dependent vasodilator system.     

Endothelium-derived relaxing factor produced and released from artery and vein is nitric oxide.

The objective of this study was to determine whether nitric oxide (NO) is responsible for the vascular smooth muscle relaxation elicited by endothelium-derived relaxing factor (EDRF). EDRF is an unstable humoral substance released from artery and vein that mediates the action of endothelium-dependent vasodilators. NO is an unstable endothelium-independent vasodilator that is released from vasodilator drugs such as nitroprusside and glyceryl trinitrate. We have repeatedly observed that the actions of NO on vascular smooth muscle closely resemble those of EDRF. In the present study the vascular effects of EDRF released from perfused bovine intrapulmonary artery and vein were compared with the effects of NO delivered by superfusion over endothelium-denuded arterial and venous strips arranged in a cascade. EDRF was indistinguishable from NO in that both were labile (t1/2 = 3-5 sec), inactivated by pyrogallol or superoxide anion, stabilized by superoxide dismutase, and inhibited by oxyhemoglobin or potassium. Both EDRF and NO produced comparable increases in cyclic GMP accumulation in artery and vein, and this cyclic GMP accumulation was inhibited by pyrogallol, oxyhemoglobin, potassium, and methylene blue. EDRF was identified chemically as NO, or a labile nitroso species, by two procedures. First, like NO, EDRF released from freshly isolated aortic endothelial cells reacted with hemoglobin to yield nitrosylhemoglobin. Second, EDRF and NO each similarly promoted the diazotization of sulfanilic acid and yielded the same reaction product after coupling with N-(1-naphthyl)-ethylenediamine. Thus, EDRF released from artery and vein possesses identical biological and chemical properties as NO.     

Antagonistic modulatory roles of magnesium and calcium on release of endothelium-derived relaxing factor and smooth muscle tone

The objective of this study was to elucidate the mechanisms associated with the reciprocal relation between magnesium and calcium on vascular smooth muscle tone in bovine pulmonary artery and vein. Rapid removal of magnesium from Krebs-bicarbonate medium used to bathe isolated rings of precontracted artery or vein caused transient endothelium- and calcium-dependent relaxation and cyclic GMP accumulation. Both responses were antagonized by oxyhemoglobin, methylene blue, or superoxide anion and were enhanced by superoxide dismutase. The transient relaxation was followed by sustained endothelium-independent contraction. Endothelium-denuded vascular rings contracted in response to extracellular magnesium depletion without alteration in cyclic GMP levels. The data suggest that vascular endothelium-derived nitric oxide is responsible for the calcium-dependent relaxation elicited by extracellular magnesium depletion. Indeed, in bioassay cascade studies, magnesium removal from the medium used to perfuse intact artery or vein enhanced the formation and/or release of an endothelium-derived relaxing factor by calcium-dependent mechanisms. In the absence of both extracellular magnesium and calcium, calcium readdition caused transient endothelium-dependent relaxation and cyclic GMP accumulation, and both responses were abolished by oxyhemoglobin or methylene blue. In the presence of magnesium, however, readdition of calcium to calcium-depleted medium caused only contractile responses. Addition of magnesium to calcium-containing medium consistently caused endothelium- and cyclic GMP-independent relaxation that was not altered by oxyhemoglobin or methylene blue. Thus, magnesium and calcium elicit reciprocal or mutually antagonistic effects at the levels of both endothelium-derived relaxing factor formation and/or release and smooth muscle contraction. This relation may be of physiological importance, and the possibility that a reduction in circulating magnesium levels could lead to calcium-mediated vasospasm may be of pathophysiological concern.     

Reduced production of cGMP underlies the loss of endothelium-dependent relaxations in the canine basilar artery after subarachnoid hemorrhage.

Endothelium-dependent relaxations are inhibited during chronic vasospasm after subarachnoid hemorrhage in the canine basilar artery, although the luminal release of endothelium-derived relaxing factor (EDRF) is maintained. The present study investigated the mechanisms underlying the impaired vascular reactivity and in particular whether the loss of responsiveness of the smooth muscle to EDRF is due to an impaired production of cGMP. Bradykinin and nitric oxide evoked concentration-dependent relaxations in isolated canine basilar arteries with and without endothelium, respectively, which were reduced in the subarachnoid hemorrhage group. Relaxations evoked by M&B22,948 (an inhibitor of cGMP phosphodiesterases) were smaller, but those evoked by the lipophilic cGMP analogue 8-bromo-cGMP were potentiated slightly in the subarachnoid hemorrhage group. The resting levels of cGMP in rings with endothelium (reflecting the effect of spontaneous release of EDRF) and those evoked by bradykinin in rings with endothelium and by nitric oxide in rings without endothelium were diminished in the subarachnoid hemorrhage group. These data indicate that the altered endothelium-mediated relaxations of the smooth muscle after subarachnoid hemorrhage is due, at least in part, to an impaired activation of soluble guanylate cyclase leading to a reduced production of cGMP in the smooth muscle.     

植物雌激素α-玉米赤霉醇内皮依赖性舒张效应的机制研究

目的探讨植物雌激素α-玉米赤霉醇(α-ZAL)对大鼠胸主动脉环内皮依赖性舒张效应中一氧化氮合酶(NOS)-NO-环磷酸鸟苷(cGMP)系统的作用。方法采用体外血管环灌流的方法,先用10-6mol/L苯肾上腺素预收缩血管。观察10-10～10-5mol/L6个不同浓度α-ZAL对内皮完整和去除内皮的大鼠胸主动脉环的舒张作用。α-ZAL10-10～10-8mol/L为低浓度组,α-ZAL10-7～10-5mol/L为高浓度组,0.1%乙醇浓度为对照组。在高浓度组中分别预先加用10-5mol/L左旋硝基精氨酸甲酯(L-NAME组)和亚甲蓝(MB组)并观察其影响,测定动脉环中内皮型一氧化氮合酶(eNOS)和cGMP含量及灌流液中NO含量变化。结果L-NAME组和MB组均可减弱高浓度组中α-ZAL的内皮依赖性胸主动脉环舒张作用(P<0.05,P<0.01);与对照组比较,高浓度组胸主动脉环中eNOS、cGMP含量及灌流液中NO含量增高(P<0.05,P<0.01);与高浓度组比较,L-NAME组可降低灌流液中NO含量及胸主动脉环中cGMP含量(P<0.05,P<0.01);MB组可降低胸主动脉环中cGMP含量(P<0.01)。结论α-ZAL的内皮依赖性舒张作用与NOS-NO-cGMP系统的激活有关。     

S-nitrosocysteine inhibition of human platelet secretion is correlated with increases in platelet cGMP levels.

Platelet inhibition by exogenous and endogenous nitrovasodilators has been shown to be associated with increases in cGMP, but proof of a role for cGMP in this process is lacking. We therefore studied the effects of cGMP and guanylate cyclase stimulation on human platelet secretion by pharmacologically modulating intraplatelet cGMP levels. The endothelium-derived relaxing factor (EDRF)-like activator of guanylate cyclase, S-nitrosocysteine (SNOC), led to a dose-dependent inhibition of secretion in intact human platelets (IC50 = 10(-6) M). The cGMP phosphodiesterase inhibitor M&B 22,948 augmented SNOC-induced inhibition of secretion through elevations in cGMP without affecting cAMP levels (from 50% to 81% inhibition versus control, p = 0.02). Methylene blue reversed the inhibitory effects of SNOC on platelet secretion (p = 0.03). Dibutyryl-cGMP and 8-bromo-cGMP also significantly inhibited secretion in this system. Incubation of platelets with exogenous cGMP to achieve intraplatelet cGMP levels comparable to those after SNOC treatment resulted in similar degrees of inhibition of secretion (32% inhibition versus control, p = 0.01) and was also potentiated by M&B 22,948 (from 32% to 68% inhibition, p = 0.003). In addition, a highly significant correlation between intraplatelet cGMP levels and the degree of inhibition of secretion was demonstrable in these studies (r = 0.94, p = 0.016). These data demonstrate that elevation of intraplatelet cGMP levels by the EDRF-like compound SNOC is correlated with inhibition of human platelet secretion.     

Short- and long-term interactions of endothelium and vascular smooth muscle in coculture: effects on cyclic GMP production

In intact blood vessels, many vasodilators act by stimulating the release from endothelium of factor(s) that relax vascular smooth muscle and stimulate increases in cGMP. To investigate how endothelium regulates cGMP production in vascular smooth muscle, bovine aortic endothelial cells and rat aortic smooth muscle cells were cultured both separately and together in cocultures for 48 hr. Nitroprusside (1 mM) increased intracellular cGMP concentration 30-fold in smooth muscle cells (from a basal level of 103 +/- 54 fmol/mg of cell protein to 2920 +/- 1800 fmol/mg) but only 2-fold in endothelial cells (from 41 +/- 7 fmol/mg to 93 +/- 23 fmol/mg). When endothelial and smooth muscle cells were cocultured as a mixed cell population (1:1 cell ratio), both basal and nitroprusside-stimulated cGMP levels were significantly increased (550 +/- 250 and 13,240 +/- 9950 fmol/mg of total cell protein, respectively). The calcium ionophore A23187 (10 microM) caused no increase in cGMP concentration in either cell type cultured alone but produced a 6-fold increase in cocultures. Neither aspirin nor 5,8,11,14-icosatetraynoic acid influenced these results. No changes in cAMP levels were detected. Using cocultures in which one cell type was grown on microcarrier beads, we have shown that cGMP increased only in vascular smooth muscle cells and was not dependent upon the formation of junctions between endothelium and smooth muscle cells. In long-term (48-hr) mixed-cell cocultures, but not in short-term microcarrier cocultures, amplification of the nitroprusside-induced increase in cGMP was observed. These results show that responses associated with endothelium-dependent relaxation can be reconstituted in cultured endothelial and vascular smooth muscle cells and that endothelium generates a humoral factor(s) that stimulates accumulation of smooth muscle cGMP and has a longer-term effect that amplifies guanylate cyclase stimulation by nitroprusside, a drug acting directly upon smooth muscle to stimulate formation of the cyclic nucleotide. Cultured cells provide a valuable model system for the study of endothelium-vascular smooth muscle interactions.     

Atrial natriuretic factor and cyclic guanosine 3',5'-monophosphate in vascular smooth muscle

To elucidate the molecular mechanism of the vascular action of atrial natriuretic factor (ANF), we investigated the effects of synthetic ANF and sodium nitroprusside on the levels of intracellular cyclic nucleotides and prostacyclin (measured as its stable metabolite 6-keto-prostaglandin F1 alpha) in cultured vascular smooth muscle cells from rat mesenteric artery and, in some experiments, from rat renal artery. Both ANF and sodium nitroprusside increased intracellular cyclic guanosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cGMP) levels in a dose-dependent manner but did not affect cyclic adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate levels or 6-keto-prostaglandin F1 alpha synthesis. The stimulatory effect of ANF and sodium nitroprusside on cGMP levels were additive. Neither the deprivation of extracellular Ca2+ nor calcium entry blockers affected ANF-stimulated cGMP levels. Preincubation of ANF or sodium nitroprusside with kallikrein attenuated only the effect of ANF on cGMP levels. The effect of kallikrein was abolished by serine protease inhibitors. In contrast, the oxidant methylene blue inhibited the effect of sodium nitroprusside on cGMP levels, but not that of ANF. The stimulatory effect of ANF on cGMP levels was greater in cells from renal artery than in those from mesenteric artery. These results in cultured vascular smooth muscle cells further support the hypothesis that cGMP mediates the vasorelaxant action of ANF.     

Heterogeneity of endothelium-dependent responses to acetylcholine in canine femoral arteries and veins. Separation of the role played by endothelial and smooth muscle cells

The purpose of this study was to determine whether heterogeneity in endothelium-dependent responses to acetylcholine between canine blood vessels of different anatomical origin reflects variations in endothelial function or in responsiveness of vascular smooth muscle cells. Experiments were conducted in a bioassay system, where segments of femoral artery or vein with endothelium were perfused intraluminally and the perfusate used to superfuse rings of femoral arteries or veins without endothelium. Indomethacin was present in all experiments to prevent the synthesis of prostanoids. The blood vessels were contracted by phenylephrine. Measurement of wall tension in both the perfused segment and bioassay ring allowed simultaneous detection of endothelium-derived relaxing factor(s) released abluminally (segment) and intraluminally (ring). Intraluminal infusion of acetylcholine (ACh) induced relaxations in the perfused artery but not in vein segments. During arterial superfusion ACh induced relaxation in femoral arterial rings but contraction in venous rings. After treatment with atropine the arterial perfusate evoked relaxations in venous rings. Infusion of ACh through the femoral vein evoked only moderate relaxations in arterial rings. These data demonstrate that depressed endothelium-dependent relaxation to ACh in femoral veins compared to femoral arteries is due to a masking effect of the direct stimulating action of ACh and decreased release of the same mediator or the release of a different relaxing factor from venous endothelium.     

Endothelium-dependent relaxation and cyclic GMP accumulation in rabbit pulmonary artery are selectively impaired by moderate hypoxia

The effect of hypoxia on endothelium-dependent and endothelium-independent vasodilation was studied in phenylephrine-precontracted, isolated rings of rabbit first-branch pulmonary artery. Concentration-dependent relaxation responses to the endothelium-dependent dilators methacholine, ATP, and the calcium ionophore (A23187) as well as to the endothelium-independent dilators sodium nitroprusside and isoproterenol were obtained before, during, and after exposure to hypoxia (PO2 = 42 +/- 1 mm Hg) in the presence of indomethacin (2.8 x 10(-5) M). This moderate degree of hypoxia inhibited (p less than 0.05) endothelium-dependent but not endothelium-independent relaxation responses without producing irreversible vascular damage. In parallel experiments, cyclic GMP accumulation in pulmonary vascular rings in response to maximal doses of the above vasodilators was measured in the presence and absence of hypoxia. Cyclic GMP accumulation in response to endothelium-dependent dilators (methacholine, ATP, and A23187) was inhibited (p less than 0.05) by hypoxia while cyclic GMP accumulation in response to the endothelium-independent dilator sodium nitroprusside was not. When phenylephrine precontracted vessels were exposed to hypoxia in the absence of vasodilators, a small, transient increase in tension occurred, which was greater in endothelium-intact than in endothelium-denuded vessels (0.70 +/- 0.12 vs. 0.09 +/- 0.03 g, respectively; p less than 0.01).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Relaxant effects of vasoactive intestinal peptide and peptide histidine isoleucine in human and bovine pulmonary arteries

We studied the functional effects of vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) and the structurally related peptide histidine isoleucine (PHI) in segments of bovine and human intrapulmonary artery. In both species, VIP caused nearly complete relaxation of precontracted vessel segments. The EC50 was 1.3 +/- 0.3 X 10(-9) M (mean +/- SD) in bovine and 3.4 +/- 0.4 X 10(-9) M in human pulmonary artery. The response to VIP was not endothelium-dependent and it was not affected by either adrenergic and cholinergic blockade or by cyclooxygenase inhibition. PHI also relaxed human and bovine vessels but this related peptide was significantly less effective than VIP. We conclude that VIP is a potent inhibitor of bovine and human pulmonary artery, which appears to act directly on vascular smooth muscle. These data support the concept that VIP may be a neurotransmitter which modulates pulmonary artery tone in both man and cow.     

Cyclic GMP phosphodiesterases and regulation of smooth muscle function

Cyclic GMP (cGMP) made in response to atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) or nitric oxide (NO) is an important regulator of short-term changes in smooth muscle tone and longer-term responses to chronic drug treatment or proliferative signals. The ability of smooth muscle cells (SMCs) to utilize different combinations of phosphodiesterase (PDE) isozymes allows cGMP to mediate these multiple processes. For example, PDE5 as a major cGMP-hydrolyzing PDE effectively controls the development of smooth muscle relaxation. In order for contraction to occur, PDE5 is activated and cGMP falls. Conversely, blockade of PDE5 activity allows the relaxation cycle to be prolonged and enhanced. A recently shown direct activation of PDE5 by cGMP binding to the GAF A domain suggests that this regulatory site might be a target for new drug development. The calcium surge associated with vasoconstrictor initiated contraction also activates a calcium/calmodulin-dependent PDE (PDE1A). Together, PDE5 and PDE1A lower cGMP sufficiently to allow contraction. Longer term, both PDE5 and PDE1A mRNA are induced by chronic stimulation of guanylyl cyclase. This induction is a major cause of the tolerance that develops to NO-releasing drugs. Finally, high levels of cGMP or cAMP also act as a brake to attenuate the proliferative response of SMCs to many mitogens. After vessel damage, in order for SMC proliferation to occur, the levels of cGMP and cAMP must be decreased. In humans, this decrease is caused in large part by induction of another Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent PDE (PDE1C) that allows the brake to be released and proliferation to start.     

Agonist-induced endothelium-dependent relaxation in rat thoracic aorta may be mediated through cGMP

The present study investigates the hypothesis that endothelium-dependent relaxation of vascular smooth muscle may be mediated through the formation of cGMP. Relaxation of the rat thoracic aorta to acetylcholine, histamine, and Ca++ ionophore A23187 was associated with increased levels of cGMP in a time- and concentration-dependent manner, whereas cAMP levels were unaltered. Removal of the endothelium prevented relaxation to these agents and prevented the increased levels of cGMP. Removal of the endothelium after exposure to acetylcholine only partially decreased the elevated levels of cGMP, suggesting that the changes in cGMP occurred within the smooth muscle cells. Eicosatetraynoic acid, an inhibitor of lipoxygenase and cyclooxygenase, and quinacrine, an inhibitor of phospholipase, prevented and reversed acetylcholine-induced relaxation, respectively, and inhibited acetylcholine-induced increased levels of cGMP. In contrast, sodium nitroprusside-induced relaxation and increased levels of cGMP were independent of the presence of the endothelium, exposure to eicosatetraynoic acid, and quinacrine. The present results support the hypothesis that vascular smooth muscle relaxation induced by some agents is dependent on the presence of the endothelium and is mediated through the formation of an endothelial factor that increases cGMP levels in smooth muscle.     

Atrial natriuretic factor elicits an endothelium-independent relaxation and activates particulate guanylate cyclase in vascular smooth muscle.

A 26 amino acid synthetic peptide fragment of atrial natriuretic factor (ANF) relaxed isolated rabbit aortic segments in which the endothelium was either intact or functionally destroyed. The relaxations were temporally associated with increases in levels of cGMP with no change in the levels of cAMP. The ANF-induced increases in cGMP were also observed in aortic segments pretreated with calcium-free buffer or the cGMP phosphodiesterase inhibitor M&B 22,948. Qualitatively similar results were obtained for sodium nitroprusside. ANF selectively activated particulate guanylate cyclase, having no effect on the soluble form of the enzyme. Thus, the direct (endothelium-independent) vasodilator effect of ANF may be mediated via increased tissue levels of cGMP. ANF appears to increase vascular cGMP levels by activation of particulate guanylate cyclase.     

Absence of a role for superoxide anion, hydrogen peroxide and hydroxyl radical in endothelium-mediated relaxation of rabbit aorta

We tested the hypothesis that the endothelium-dependent relaxation of rabbit thoracic aorta in vitro is mediated by reduced metabolites of oxygen. Helical vascular strips were contracted with either norepinephrine or phenylephrine. Oxygen metabolites, generated by the xanthine oxidase reaction, completely relaxed norepinephrine-induced contractile tone but not tone induced by phenylephrine. A mixture of oxygen metabolite scavengers (superoxide dismutase, catalase and mannitol) eliminated the relaxation induced by the xanthine oxidase products. Acetylcholine caused a dose-dependent and endothelium-dependent relaxation of the strips; this was not inhibited by the presence of the scavengers. We conclude that reduced oxygen metabolites have little direct effect on rabbit aortic smooth muscle in vitro, although they indirectly but specifically relax norepinephrine-induced tone, presumably by oxidation of norepinephrine. Oxygen metabolites do not appear to mediate the endothelium-dependent relaxation response of this tissue to acetylcholine.     

Hormone and neurotransmitter receptors in an established vascular endothelial cell line.

A cell line from the intima of the rabbit aorta has been established. This cell line exhibits strict contact inhibition, and morphologically resembles intimal endothelial cells. B-type blood group antigens and the presence of fibrinolytic activity also distinguish these cells from smooth muscle cells and from fibroblasts of the aortic wall. Endothelial cells were assayed for changes in levels of adenosine 3':5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP) and guanosine 3':5'-cyclic monophosphate (cGMP) in response to a series of vasoactive drugs. Control levels for cAMP and cGMP are 7.01 +/- 0.82 and 1.50 +/- 0.06, respectively (mean +/- SEM). Norepinephrine, acetylcholine, 5-hydroxytryptamine, and phenylephrine increased the levels of both nucleotides significantly. Propranolol (10-5 M) and phentolamine (10-5M) inhibited, respectively, the cAMP and cGMP response to norepinephrine. Angiotensin II and histamine significantly increased cGMP levels but not cAMP levels of the endothelial cells. The cGMP increases with acetylcholine were inhibited by atropine. These results indicate that the established cell line is endothelial in nature and contains cellular receptors to a variety of vasoactive agents.     

Evidence for an endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor in the superior mesenteric artery from rats with cirrhosis

In cirrhosis, in splanchnic arteries, endothelium-dependent relaxation may persist even if overactive nitric oxide synthase (NOS) and cyclooxygenase (COX) are inhibited. In normal arteries, a significant endothelium-dependent relaxation to acetylcholine persists after NOS/COX inhibition. This relaxation is caused by smooth muscle cell (SMC) membrane hyperpolarization, which is sensitive to a combination of the potassium channel blockers apamin and charybdotoxin, and is mediated by an endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor (EDHF). The aim of this study was to detect EDHF and evaluate its pathophysiologic role in isolated superior mesenteric arteries from cirrhotic rats. Arterial rings were obtained and exposed to N(w)-nitro-L-arginine (L-NNA, a NOS inhibitor) and indomethacin (a COX inhibitor). Acetylcholine-induced membrane potential responses and concentration-response curves to the relaxant of acetylcholine were obtained with and without apamin plus charybdotoxin. Acetylcholine-induced responses were measured in certain rings from endothelium-denuded arteries. Contractions caused by the alpha(1)-adrenoceptor agonist phenylephrine were obtained in cirrhotic and normal rings with and without apamin and charybdotoxin. Significant acetylcholine-induced, endothelium-dependent, apamin- and charybdotoxin-sensitive, SMC membrane hyperpolarization and relaxation were found. An apamin- and charybdotoxin-sensitive hyporesponsiveness to the contractile action of phenylephrine was found in cirrhotic rings. In conclusion, in cirrhotic rats, in the superior mesenteric artery exposed to NOS/COX-inhibitors, an EDHF exists that may replace NOS/COX products to induce endothelium-dependent arterial relaxation.     

Effects of melittin on endothelium-dependent relaxation and cyclic GMP levels in rat aorta

The present study investigates the mechanism of endothelium-dependent relaxation of vascular smooth muscle. Melittin, a polypeptide found in honeybee venom and a known activator of phospholipase A2, induced transient, endothelium-dependent relaxations of rat thoracic aortae contracted with norepinephrine. Higher concentrations of melittin induced relaxations followed by contractions. Prior incubation of melittin with trypsin abolished the changes in relaxation and contraction due to melittin. Melittin (10 micrograms/ml)-induced relaxations were associated with transiently elevated levels of cyclic GMP with a peak increase of 30-fold, which occurred 30 seconds after melittin exposure. Melittin (10 micrograms/ml) elevated cyclic AMP levels less than twofold and this effect was variable. A lower concentration of melittin (1 microgram/ml) elevated cyclic GMP levels approximately twofold, while exposure to 1 microgram/ml melittin in the presence of the cyclic GMP phosphodiesterase inhibitor, M&B 22948 (1 mM), increased cyclic GMP levels fivefold. Removal of the endothelium prevented the increased levels of cyclic GMP and cyclic AMP due to melittin. Exposure to the guanylate cyclase inhibitor, methylene blue, prevented the increased levels of cyclic GMP. Methylene blue, nordihydroguaiaretic acid, and the phospholipase A2 inhibitor, parabromophenacyl bromide, inhibited melittin-induced relaxations, while the cyclo-oxygenase inhibitor, indomethacin, was without effect. Arachidonic acid increased cyclic AMP levels but had no effect on cyclic GMP levels in the presence or absence of indomethacin. Relaxations to melittin, and to the endothelium-dependent vasodilators acetylcholine, trypsin, histamine, and the Ca2+ ionophore A23187, and/or the associated increased cyclic GMP levels, were reduced following exposure to melittin. Prior exposure to polyarginine (10 micrograms/ml), which induced endothelium-dependent relaxations that were prevented by methylene blue, also inhibited relaxations to the endothelium-dependent vasodilators. In contrast, relaxations to sodium nitroprusside were potentiated in tissues previously exposed to melittin. Removal of the endothelium by rubbing the intimal surface also potentiated relaxations to sodium nitroprusside. Scanning electron micrographs of the intimal surface demonstrated that melittin and polyarginine greatly damaged the endothelial cells. The present results suggest that polycation containing peptides induce endothelium-dependent relaxation through elevation of cyclic GMP levels within the smooth muscle.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)