Effect of nitrendipine, a calcium antagonist, on the distribution of calcium in aortic smooth muscle cells of deoxycorticosterone-hypertensive rats. A quantitative ultracytochemical study

Rats were made hypertensive by implantation of a pellet of deoxycorticosterone (DOC). A low dose (1 mg/kg twice daily) of the calcium antagonist nitrendipine protects against the increase in total and ionic levels of calcium in the aorta produced by the elevated blood pressure, dissociating at least in part the hypertension from the rise in aortic calcium. Ionic (free) calcium was demonstrated in aortic smooth muscle cells by the pyroantimonate ultra-cytochemical method and the electron opaque reaction product quantitated by stereological techniques. As compared to the control group, nitrendipine did not increase the number of vesicles/micron with precipitate located adjacent to the sarcolemma. DOC however increased the number of subsarcolemmal vesicles with electron opaque precipitate and sarcoplasmic calcium. Nitrendipine administration to DOC-treated rats decreased the number of vesicles to that found in the control or nitrendipine-treated group while ionic calcium in the nitrendipine + DOC group was intermediate between the control or nitrendipine group and the DOC group. The total content of calcium measured by atomic absorption correlates with the observations of ionic calcium levels demonstrated ultracytochemically. Aortic dry weights of the DOC and DOC + nitrendipine groups were comparable and significantly greater than those in the control or nitrendipine groups.     

Early-onset increased calcium and decreased magnesium concentrations and an increased calcium/magnesium ratio in SHR versus WKY.

Alterations in the metabolism of calcium and magnesium have been implicated in the pathogenesis of primary hypertension. Calcium influx across the external cellular membrane in smooth muscle cells and cardiomyocytes plays a crucial role in the control of cellular excitation contraction and impulse propagation. Intracellular calcium and magnesium concentrations are controlled by reversible binding to specific calcium binding proteins. The calcium and magnesium flux across the external membrane is regulated by a calcium pump (calcium-magnesium-ATPase), calcium channels and binding to the membrane. In cell membranes and in lymphocytes of essential hypertensives, our group showed increased calcium and decreased magnesium and an increased calcium/magnesium ratio in hypertensive cells. In this context, in aortic smooth muscle cells from 13 spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) of the Münster strain (systolic blood pressure 188.4+/-9.8 mmHg) and 13 normotensive rats (NT, systolic blood pressure 118.5+/-7.2 mmHg) aged 9 months, the intracellular calcium and magnesium contents were measured under nearly in vivo conditions by electron-probe microanalysis. Measurements were performed in aortic cryosections 3 microm thick. The calcium content was 124.7+/-4.5* mmol/kg dry weight in SHR versus 110.3+/-4.1 mmol/kg dry weight in NT (Means+/-SD, p < 0.01), the magnesium content was 35.5+/-3.9* in SHR versus 50.1+/-4.9 mmol/kg dry weight in NT /p < 0.01). The calcium/magnesium ratio was significantly increased in SHR versus NT (3.56+/-0.39* versus 2.23+/-0.27, p < 0.01). In hypertensive one month old animals the increase in the calcium/magnesium ratio was not as pronounced as in 9 month old animals. The calcium/magnesium ratio was measured 3.3+/-0.42 in SHR (n = 8) as compared to 2.51+/-0.39 in normotensive animals (n = 8, p < 0.01). Aortic smooth muscle cells from SHR are characterized by markedly elevated intracellular calcium and decreased intracellular magnesium contents compared with normotensive cells. The increased calcium/magnesium ratio in hypertensive cells may be a pathogenetic factor for the development of arteriosclerosis and hypertension.     

苯丙氨酸缓解高血压大鼠血管重塑

目的：应用激光共聚焦显微镜观察高血压时血管重塑，以及苯丙氨酸治疗后对血管重塑的影响。方法： 以Wistar-Kyoto 大鼠 (WKY)和自发性高血压大鼠(SHR)为研究对象，采用固定压力灌注和荧光染色激光共聚焦显微镜观察分析肠系膜小动脉的管腔、厚度和血管平滑肌的排列方向。结果： SHR较WKY 管腔缩小，管壁增厚，同时血管平滑肌排列方向紊乱。应用苯丙氨酸治疗后，管腔扩大，管壁变薄，血管平滑肌排列方向改善。结论： 高血压大鼠肠系膜小动脉存在血管重塑现象，苯丙氨酸可以改善血管重塑。     

Aortic smooth muscle cells reaction in rat spontaneous hypertension.

Parallel morphometric, karyometric and ultrastructural studies of the aortic wall in Okamoto-Aoki rats with short term (3-6 months) and long-term (12-16 months) spontaneous hypertension have revealed a progressive thickening of the medial layer, which is associated with an increaase in the mean nuclear area of the arterial medial smooth muscles and reduction in their mean number per unit area. Electron microscopic studies have shown a multiplication of the intracellular components of aortic smooth muscle cells as a base for their enlargement, as well as small single foci of smooth muscle hyperplasia in the area of the innermost interlamellar space in parts of the aortic wall with intimal thickening. Results of these studies allow the conclusion, that hypertrophy is a reaction of arterial smooth muscle cells to an increased mechanical load in hypertension which, in turn, is responsible for the thickening of arterial with Hyperplasia - increase in smooth muscle cells' number in the media - played a subordinate role. The reaction of the aortic wall to elevate blood pressure is interpreted as a manifestation of the normally limited division capacity of smooth muscle cells in mammals, which does not allow an increase in its cellular components. The function of existing arterial smooth muscle smooth cells is enhanced, instead, by hyperplasia of their specific organelles and augmentation of their volume.     

Effect of verapamil on blood pressure and lesions in heart and kidney of rats made hypertensive by deoxycorticosterone (DOC)

The effect of verapamil, a calcium antagonist, was studied in rats treated with deoxycorticosterone (DOC). DOC induced hypertensive cardiovascular disease with accompanying gross and microscopic lesions in heart and kidney. Verapamil administered in the drinking fluid (1% sodium chloride) prevented hypertension and significantly ameliorated the incidence and severity of cardiovascular lesions. With exception of the spleen, verapamil did not prevent renal or myocardial hypertrophy in rats treated with DOC in spite of prevention of hypertension. The level of verapamil in the serum of animals consuming verapamil (0.37 +/- 0.16 microgram/ml) was less than that of the DOC-verapamil group (0.89 +/- 0.16 microgram/ml), although the difference was not significant. These results confirm the efficacy of verapamil in reducing blood pressure and in ameliorating vascular lesions.     

Cellular changes during hypertension: a quantitative study of the rat aorta

Using rats made hypertensive by aortic ligation or by the one kidney--one clip method, we searched the aorta for morphologic clues that could explain why hypertension aggravates atherosclerosis. Both atherosclerosis and hypertension are characterized by an increased migration of mononuclear cells into the aortic intima; we therefore quantitated this phenomenon and studied its time course. In the thoracic aorta of hypertensive rats intimal cells (emigrated mononuclear cells) increased up to 15 times 2 weeks after surgery and remained stationary thereafter. In both control and experimental rats, leukocyte emigration was heavier in the thoracic aorta than in the abdominal region. A two- to threefold increase in medial smooth muscle herniae into the intima (myointimal herniae) was also found at 8 weeks, indicating a smooth muscle cell dysfunction. Electron microscopic study of the intima showed that its thickening was due to blood-borne material and also to extracellular matrix synthesized by the endothelium. Heightened secretion reflects cell activation, a condition that (in the endothelium) leads also to leukocyte adhesion. These data suggest that, in renovascular hypertension, the aortic endothelium is in an activated state, possibly through a hormonal stimulus.     

Modulation of platelet Ca2+ homeostasis by hypertensive plasma factor(s) derived from patients with early-stage renal disease

Summary To determine whether blood-borne factors in hypertension accompanying early-stage kidney disease might be responsible for altered cellular calcium homeostasis, we measured changes in cytosolic calcium before and after incubating platelets in plasma ultrafiltrates from normotensive and hypertensive renal patients. With the use of the chelating agent quin 2, we found the free-calcium concentrations in platelets to be higher in the hypertensive than in the normotensive group. When both groups of participants were combined, a direct correlation was found between arterial pressure and cytosolic calcium. The cytosolic calcium concentration in platelets of normotensive renal patients increased after incubation with plasma from patients with untreated renal hypertension, but it was unchanged after incubation with plasma from normotensive subjects. These data indicate that the total cell burden of calcium is increased in platelets of hypertensive patients with earlystage renal disease, and that plasma from these patients contains a substance that is capable of increasing the cytosolic calcium concentration in platelets. If the plasma factor (or factors) acts not only on platelets, but also on vascular smooth muscle cells, it may contribute to the increased peripheral vascular resistance associated with hypertension of renal origin.     

In vitro proliferation of aortic smooth muscle cells from spontaneously hypertensive and normotensive rats

The characteristics and proliferation of aortic smooth muscle cells (SMC) from spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and normotensive Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats were studied in culture. Smooth muscle cells were isolated from the tunica media of the thoracic aorta by an explant method. Immunofluorescence microscopy showed that 93-95 per cent of cells were positively labelled with antibodies raised against smooth muscle actin, indicating that these were smooth muscle cells. The proliferative activity was compared between aortic smooth muscle cells from hypertensive and normotensive rats in culture by thymidine incorporation and cell number determinations. The results demonstrate that aortic smooth muscle cells from hypertensive rats grew faster than those from normotensive rats in culture. The increased proliferative activity of cultured aortic smooth muscle cells from hypertensive rats was detectable even when they were cultured in a chemically defined serum-free medium. These data have shown that an increased proliferative activity of aortic smooth muscle cells from hypertensive rats can occur in culture conditions without the influence of arterial pressure or other stimuli as in intact animals. The mechanisms underlying the accelerated proliferative activity of aortic smooth muscle cells from genetically hypertensive rats in vitro remain to be determined.     

Pathogenesis of Focal Cytoplasmic Necrosis of the Smooth Muscle Cells in Hypertensive Rat Arterial Media

Hypertensive rat arteries exhibited severe medial smooth muscle cell injury and necrosis. Electron microscopic observations showed the smooth muscle cells of these arteries exhibited characteristics of focal cytoplasmic necrosis forming new cytodemarcating membrane between the healthy cytoplasm and necrotic cytoplasm. When the focal necrotic cytoplasm disappeared from the injured smooth muscle cells, it left it with a moth-eaten leaf-like appearance (moth-eaten necrosis). At an advanced stage of injury, smooth muscle cells changed to islet-like cell bodies with newly formed basement membranes around them, and further islet-like cell bodies and cell debris disappeared leaving lamellar and reticular basement membranes.In hypertensive rats injected with nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT), formazan deposits were observed in the medial cells and nitrotyrosine, a biomarker of peroxynitrite, were immunohistochemically observed in the arterial media. Nick-end positive extranuclear small granular bodies, which might have derived from focal necrotic cytoplasm and nucleus, were detected in the arterial media using DNA nick-end labeling method. Based on electron microscopical and histochemical findings, we conjectured that the focal cytoplasmic necrosis of the smooth muscle cells in the arterial media depended on injury arising from mitochondria-derived oxidants.     

Expression of tenascin by vascular smooth muscle cells. Alterations in hypertensive rats and stimulation by angiotensin II.

The extracellular matrix glycoprotein tenascin is associated with remodeling events in many embryonic and pathologic tissues. The expression of tenascin has been investigated by immunohistochemistry in blood vessels of Wistar-Kyoto (normotensive) and spontaneously hypertensive rats. Weak tenascin staining was present throughout the tunica media of large and small arteries from normotensive animals; strong staining was only detectable at branching sites. In arteries from hypertensive animals, foci of strong tenascin staining were scattered throughout the tunica media. The expression of tenascin mRNA and protein by rat aortic smooth muscle cells cultured in serum-free medium was induced by the vasoconstrictor peptide angiotensin II. Transforming growth factor-beta and platelet-derived growth factor also stimulated tenascin mRNA expression. Vascular smooth muscle cells attached specifically to a substratum of tenascin, but remained rounded. Thus, increased focal tenascin expression by vascular smooth muscle cells is associated with hypertension, and may mediate angiotensin II-induced changes in vascular structure in hypertension.     

Morphometric investigation of hypertrophy in the arteries of DOCA-hypertensive rats

The increase in peripheral resistance of the vascular bed in hypertension has been attributed to adaptive hypertrophy of the media or a so-called contracture of the arterial wall due to altered reactivity of smooth muscle cells. We have measured medial cross-sectional area, numbers of smooth muscle cell nuclei and the relative proportions of scleroporteins present in the media in hypertensive rats. The results show that hyperplasia of smooth muscle cells and an increase in medial area occur in hypertension, a change most marked in the peripheral branches of the renal artery.     

高肺血流量所致肺动脉高压大鼠肺血管结构和气体信使分子的变化

目的:探讨高肺血流量所致肺动脉高压大鼠肺血管结构和两种气体信使分子的变化。方法:对大鼠行腹主动脉-下腔静脉分流术。11周后,以右心导管法测定肺动脉平均压(PAMP)。检测右心室/体重(RV/BW)和右心室/左心室+室间隔(RV/LV+S)比值。观测肺血管显微及超微结构的变化。并且以分光光度计测定血浆一氧化氮(NO)和一氧化碳(CO)含量,以免疫组织化学方法检测肺动脉内皮细胞内皮型NO合酶(eNOS)和平滑肌细胞血红素加氧酶-1(HO-1)的表达。结果:分流组大鼠PAMP、RV/BW及RV/(LV+S)比值明显高于对照组(P均<001)。光镜下,肺小血管肌化程度明显增强,肺中、小型肌型动脉相对中膜面积及厚度明显增加。电镜下,肺腺泡内动脉内皮细胞增生、变性,内弹力层粗细不均,平滑肌细胞肥厚、向合成表型转化。并且分流组大鼠血浆NO含量明显高于对照组(P<001),肺动脉内皮细胞eNOS表达明显增强。而分流组大鼠血浆CO含量和肺动脉平滑肌细胞HO-1表达与对照组相比无明显变化。结论:肺血管结构重建是左向右分流所致肺动脉高压的重要病理基础,NO体系可能在其形成中起重要的调节作用。     

Recent advances in molecular pathology. The effects of hypertension on the arterial wall

Hypertension is a major risk factor for clinically significant atherosclerotic vascular disease in Western Society, although the link between these conditions remains very poorly understood. Recent studies which are reviewed here have demonstrated that major arterial intimal and medial abnormalities occur as a result of hypertension. These include functional changes in endothelial permeability as well as alterations in the endothelial cells themselves with an increase in their turnover and number and distinct changes in morphology. However, endothelial cell loss leading to denudation of the arterial intimal surface appears to be relatively uncommon. Intimal and medial thickening are consistent features of hypertension and result from increases in both cellular and extracellular components. The cells accumulating in the subendothelial space appear to be of both blood-borne and medial origins, although their complete characterization has not been performed as yet. The adherence of blood cells to the endothelial surface appears to be promoted by the presence of hypertension along with their increased entry into the intima through endothelial cell junctions. Medial thickening with hypertension is attributable primarily to increased smooth muscle cell mass, although enhanced deposition of collagen and elastin plays a contributory role. Recent data would indicate that smooth muscle cell hypertrophy rather than hyperplasia is primarily responsible for the greater smooth muscle mass with hypertension. Although elevated DNA content of hypertensive arteries has been demonstrated, such changes may be secondary to a marked increase in cells showing nuclear polyploidy. Prolonged normalization of blood pressure in hypertensive animals can produce considerable regression of arterial changes toward the control state. The changes appear more marked with respect to the cellular rather than the extracellular abnormalities induced by hypertension. In man, little is known about the effects of antihypertensive therapy on the vasculature itself, although clinical complications related to both hemorrhagic or thrombotic strokes are clearly reduced by blood pressure reduction. On the other hand, the influence of treatment on the atherosclerotic process or on the course of coronary artery disease and its complications is not currently understood. The accelerating effect of hypertension on atherosclerosis generally requires a critical level of circulating lipoproteins. Enhanced atherosclerosis is not observed in hypertensive animals without hyperlipoproteinemia or in human subjects with low lipoprotein concentrations.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

野百合碱诱导大鼠肺动脉高压时对肺血管壁Jagged2/Notch3信号分子表达的影响

目的:观察野百合碱诱导大鼠肺动脉高压时肺血管壁Jagged2/Notch3信号分子表达的变化,探讨Jagged2/Notch3信号在肺动脉高压发生中的作用和意义。方法:45只SD大鼠随机分为正常对照组(C组)、溶剂对照组(S组)和野百合碱模型组(M组),每组15只,通过一次性腹腔注射野百合碱50 mg/kg建立肺动脉高压模型,溶剂对照组注射相同剂量的溶媒。4周时通过HE染色观察肺血管重构,通过右心导管测定平均肺动脉压(m PAP)和右心室收缩压(RVSP)。采用免疫组化和实时荧光定量PCR等方法检测肺血管壁Jagged2/Notch3/Hes5蛋白和mRNA表达的变化。结果:与正常对照和溶剂对照组相比,4周时野百合碱模型组的血管壁显著增厚,中膜厚度百分比增加(P0.01);此外野百合碱模型组的m PAP和RVSP显著高于正常对照和溶剂对照组(P0.01);免疫组化和实时荧光定量PCR结果提示Jagged2主要表达于肺小动脉内膜,Notch3、Hes5主要表达于肺小动脉中层平滑肌,与溶剂对照组以及正常对照组相比,野百合碱模型组肺小动脉的Jagged2、Notch3和Hes5表达显著增高。结论:Jagged2/Notch3信号分子的激活可能在野百合碱诱导肺动脉高压发生中起重要作用。     

Endocytosis by vascular smooth muscle cells in vivo and in vitro. Roles or vesicles and lysosomes.

Overloading of lysosomes of smooth muscle cells with excess substrate may be a key event in the development of hypertensive and atherosclerotic vascular disease. Cellular uptake of materials and its relation to lysosomal function were studied by ultrastructural cytochemistry in aortic smooth muscle cells grown in vitro and in the intact animal. Injection of horseradish peroxidase (HRP) into hypertensive rats resulted in rapid insudation of the material into the environs of medial smooth muscle cells, entrance into surface pinocytic vesicles, and transport via vesicles into the cell interior where material was seen to accumulate within lysosomes. In vitro exposure of calf aortic cells to HRP in the medium resulted in a similar sequence of events. Pinocytic vesicles, seen both in vitro and in vivo, ranged in diameter from 650-1000 A. These dimensions are adequate to permit incorporation of intact lipoproteins of all classes, except the larger chylomicrons.     

Platelet cytosolic free calcium concentration in hypertension associated with early stage kidney disease

Summary Chronic hypertension accompanying early stage kidney disease is characterized by increased vascular resistance, but the underlying processes responsible for the enhanced vascular tone are unclear. We studied free calcium levels in blood platelets with the fluorescent dye quin-2. Platelets have many features in common with vascular smooth muscle cells. The cytosolic calcium concentration in platelets was elevated in 27 renal hypertensive patients, who were compared with 12 normotensive subjects (P<0.001). There was a close correlation between the free calcium level and mean blood pressure (r=0.88,P<0.001). Short-term antihypertensive treatment with a calcium entry blocker or a diuretic resulted in a significant reduction in cytosolic calcium (P<0.05), and this correlated with the fall in blood pressure (r=0.95,P<0.001). These data suggest an integrative contributory role of calcium in the pathophysiology of hypertension accompanying early stage kidney disease.     

Metformin suppresses aortic ultrastrucural damage and hypertension induced by diabetes: a potential role of advanced glycation end products

ABSTRACT

Cardiovascular disease secondary to diabetes represents a significant challenge to the health community. The advanced glycation end products (AGEs) play an important role in diabetes-mediated vascular injury. We tested whether metformin can suppress aortic AGEs production and protect against aortic injuries (aortopathy) and hypertension in streptozotocin-induced type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) animal model. T2DM was induced in rats two weeks after being fed on a high carbohydrate and fat diet (HCFD), and continued on a HCFD until being sacrificed at week 12 (model group). The protective group was put on metformin two weeks before diabetic induction and continued on metformin and HCFD until the end of the experiment, at week 12. Using electron microscopy examinations, we observed in the model group substantial damage to the ultrastructure of aortic endothelial and vascular smooth muscle layers as demonstrated by markedly distorted vacuolated endothelial and vascular smooth muscle cells with pyknotic nuclei detached from the underlying basement membrane, which were protected by metformin. Also, metformin significantly (p < .05) decreased both systolic and diastolic blood pressure, aortic levels of AGEs, and blood levels of oxidative stress and inflammatory biomarkers. We conclude that metformin protects against T2DM-induced aortopathy and hypertension, possibly via the inhibition of AGEs, inflammation, and oxidative stress.     

A sequential ultrastructural study of different arteries in the hypertensive rat

Hypertensive vascular disease was induced in rats using weekly injections of deoxycorticosterone and substituting 1% sodium chloride for tap water to drink. The emphasis of the study was on the progression and comparative aspects of alterations produced in the large clastic vessels and the coronary artery.One of the carliest alterations was observed in the intima of all vascular segments. These were characterized by endothelial cell enlargement and a gradual subendothelial accumulation of granular material leading to intimal thickening. In the later stages of the disease, mononuclear cells, fibrin and smooth muscle cells were present within the intima, with the exception of the coronary artery; only smooth muscle cells were seen in the intimal portion of this vessel.Early changes in the media consisted of smooth muscle hypertrophy and widened lamellar units, resulting in increased thickness of the vessel wall. These alterations progressed to include variation in the shape of smooth muscle cells, increasing disorganization of the cellular arrangement, focal cytoplasmic necrosis, and the loss of entire smooth muscle cells.A definite regional difference in susceptibility of individual mural components to hypertensive damage was noted. The most striking feature of this difference was demonstrated by the relatively early, severe involvement of the media of the coronary artery, in contrast to the other arteries examined.These alterations may be initiated by increased intraluminal pressure. In the case of the coronary artery, failure of this vessel to adapt effectively to increased mural tension by structural re-modelling of the arterial wall, may exacerbate these alterations.     

Morphologic and functional changes of the aortic intima during experimental hypertension.

The morphology and permeability to horseradish peroxidase of the rat aortic intima have been investigated in three experimental models of hypertension having different values of plasma renin content and plasma aldosterone level. During hypertension the aortic endothelium shows three main changes: 1) increased arithmetic mean thickness, with prominent rough endoplasmic reticulum and polyribosomes; 2) the appearance of actin microfilament bundles; and 3) increased permeability to horseradish peroxidase. These changes are not present in all models, do not appear to depend on hypertension per se, and are independent of each other. The subendothelial layer of hypertensive animals shows an increased thickness that appears to be correlated with an increase of endothelial cell volume. Our results suggest that: 1) the aortic intima reacts differently to different types of hypertension, and 2) factors other than hypertension per se play a role in the development of vascular changes observed in animals with elevated blood pressure.     

Cytoskeletal features of immature pulmonary vascular smooth muscle cells: the influence of pulmonary hypertension on normal development

Using an immunohistochemical technique, the development of the cytoskeletal proteins desmin, vimentin, and actin (using alpha isotype and non-isotype specific antibodies) was assessed using a semi-quantitative grading system in the pulmonary vascular smooth muscle of nine normal pigs and 19 normal humans at different ages, and in 13 children with pulmonary hypertensive congenital heart disease. In the normal of both species, immunostaining for vimentin decreased after birth and then increased gradually while immunostaining for desmin and alpha actin increased steadily with age. In pulmonary hypertension, immunostaining for alpha actin and vimentin showed an accelerated increase at between 2 and 8 months. Also, the media showed regional differences in immunostaining which preceded the development of intimal proliferation. The inner media showed less immunoreactivity for all cytoskeletal proteins studied than did the outer media. Within areas of intimal proliferation many cells were immunonegative. These results suggest that the cytoskeletal features of medial smooth muscle cells are remodelled in the normal infant; that this process is altered from at least 2 months in the pulmonary hypertensive infant; and that the smooth muscle cells immediately beneath the internal elastic lamina are remodelled before migrating to form intimal proliferation. Changes in cytoskeletal composition can be related to the previously described postnatal maturation of pulmonary vascular smooth muscle cells.