title: Antagonism by paraquat of the relaxing effects of acetylcholine and A23187 in rat thoracic aorta.
abstract: Paraquat, a widely used herbicide, has been reported to be capable of producing superoxide. In the present paper, therefore, the possibility of paraquat inhibiting endothelium-dependent relaxation, mediated by the production of nitric oxide, was tested. The relaxing effects of acetylcholine and A23187, but not that of sodium nitroprusside, in the rat thoracic aorta were found to be inhibited by paraquat in a concentration-dependent manner. In contrast, paraquat was totally inactive with regard to the aortic contractions induced by either norepinephrine or prostaglandin F2 alpha. The inhibitory action of paraquat could be antagonized by superoxide dismutase but not by catalase and indomethacin. All of these findings indicate that superoxide anions produced by paraquat in the endothelium contribute to a decrease in the relaxation response to acetylcholine and A23187 by interfering with endothelium-derived nitric oxide.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei.
authors.forename: K S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Hsu
authors.forename: S Y
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Lin-Shiau
mesh_terms: D000109:Acetylcholine / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D001013:Aorta, Thoracic / Q000187:drug effects; D000001:Calcimycin / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000494:pharmacology; D015237:Dinoprost / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D016166:Free Radical Scavengers; D005609:Free Radicals / Q000378:metabolism; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D007213:Indomethacin / Q000494:pharmacology; D008297:Male; D009119:Muscle Contraction / Q000187:drug effects; D009126:Muscle Relaxation / Q000187:drug effects; D009131:Muscle, Smooth, Vascular / Q000187:drug effects*; D009638:Norepinephrine / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D010269:Paraquat / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar
chemical_list: D016166:Free Radical Scavengers; D005609:Free Radicals; D000001:Calcimycin; D015237:Dinoprost; D000109:Acetylcholine; D010269:Paraquat; D009638:Norepinephrine; D007213:Indomethacin