The Nitric Oxide Donor SIN-1 Is Free of Tolerance and Maintains Its Cyclic GMP Stimulatory Potency in Nitrate-Tolerant LLC-PK1 Cells

Purpose. Using an established cell culture model, the present study investigates whether linsidomine (SIN-1), a spontaneous donor of nitric oxide and active metabolite of the antianginal drug molsidomine, induces tolerance to its own cyclic GMP stimulatory action or shows a diminished response after tolerance induction with glyceryl trinitrate. Methods. Incubations with nitric oxide donors were carried out in LLC-PK₁, kidney epithelial cells. Intracellular levels of cyclic GMP, the vasodilatory second messenger of nitric oxide, were determined by radioimmunoassay. Results. A 5-h preincubation with glyceryl trinitrate (0.01–100 M) led to complete inhibition of a subsequent cyclic GMP stimulation by glyceryl trinitrate but left the cyclic GMP response to SIN-1 unaltered. Similarly, cyclic GMP elevations by the spontaneous nitric oxide donors sodium nitroprusside and spermine NONOate were not affected after pretreatment with glyceryl trinitrate. Moreover, pretreatment with SIN-1 (1–1000 M) had no significant effect on SIN-1-dependent cyclic GMP stimulation. Conclusions. Our results show that in LLC-PK₁, cells, SIN-1 is free of tolerance induction and not cross-tolerant to glyceryl trinitrate. This may be due to the spontaneous nitric oxide release from SIN-1, which in contrast to nitric acid esters does not require enzymatic bioactivation and may therefore be unaffected by nitrate tolerance.