title: Endothelin-1 does not mediate the endothelium-dependent hypoxic contractions of small pulmonary arteries in rats.
abstract: Various pulmonary artery preparations in vitro demonstrate sustained endothelium-dependent contractions upon hypoxia. To determine whether endothelin-1 could mediate this phenomenon, we examined the effect of bosentan, a new antagonist of both the ETA and ETB subtypes of the endothelin receptor. Small (300 pm) pulmonary arteries from rats were mounted on a myograph, precontracted with prostaglandin F2 alpha and exposed to hypoxia (PO2, 10 to 15 mm Hg, measured on-line) for 45 min. Endothelium-intact control rings exhibited a biphasic response, with a transient initial vasoconstriction (phase 1) followed by a second slowly developing sustained contraction (phase 2). Expressed in percent of the maximal response to 80 mmol/L KCl, the amplitudes of phase 1 (peak tension) and 2 (tension after 45 min of hypoxia) averaged 37 +/- 12% and 17 +/- 14%, respectively (n = 11). In endothelium-denuded rings, phase 1 persisted while the amplitude of phase 2 was reduced to 2 +/- 12% (p < 0.05, n = 8), showing the endothelium dependence of this contraction. Neither phase was significantly decreased in rings treated with 10(-5) mmol/L bosentan (38 +/- 15% and 17 +/- 12%, respectively, n = 6). The PO2 threshold for onset of hypoxic contraction was not significantly different among these three groups and averaged 32 +/- 24 mm Hg. In a separate experiment, we assessed the inhibitory effect of 10(-5) mol/L bosentan on the response to 10(-8) mol/L endothelin-I. Rings treated for 45 min with 10(-8) mol/L endothelin-1 alone exhibited a maximal contraction of 75 +/- 27% (n = 6). This was reduced to 4 +/- 17% (p < 0.01, n = 6) in rings treated with both 10(-8) mol/L endothelin-1 and 10(-5) mol/L bosentan. We conclude that complete blockade of all endothelin receptor subtypes has no effect on either endothelium-dependent or -independent hypoxic contractions in this preparation. This suggests that endothelial factors other than endothelin-I mediate the acute hypoxic contractions of small pulmonary arteries in the rat.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Pathophysiology, University Hospital, Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lazor
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Feihl
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Waeber
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kucera
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Perret
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000077300:Bosentan; D065128:Endothelin Receptor Antagonists; D016232:Endothelins / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000502:physiology*; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000502:physiology*; D000860:Hypoxia / Q000503:physiopathology*; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008297:Male; D011651:Pulmonary Artery / Q000187:drug effects / Q000503:physiopathology*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013449:Sulfonamides / Q000494:pharmacology; D014661:Vasoconstriction / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D065128:Endothelin Receptor Antagonists; D016232:Endothelins; D013449:Sulfonamides; D000077300:Bosentan