title: Antenatal betamethasone therapy potentiates nitric oxide-mediated relaxation of preterm ovine coronary arteries.
abstract: The present study was designed to test the hypothesis that betamethasone may potentiate nitric oxide-mediated relaxation of coronary arteries of preterm lambs. Isolated coronary arteries were obtained from lambs delivered at 128 days gestation. The lambs were treated intramuscularly with a single dose of betamethasone or saline 48 h before delivery and were killed after 3 h of ventilation after delivery. Vessel rings were suspended in organ chambers filled with modified Krebs-Ringer solution (95% O2-5% CO2, 37 degrees C), and their isometric tension was recorded. The endothelium-dependent relaxation induced by bradykinin and calcium ionophore A23187 was greater in arteries from antenatal betamethasone-treated lambs than in arteries from control lambs. The relaxation was abolished by N omega-nitro-L-arginine. Nitric oxide induced a greater relaxation in vessels from antenatal betamethasone-treated lambs and in vessels preincubated with betamethasone than in vessels from controls. Coronary arteries from control and antenatal betamethasone-treated lambs relaxed similarly to 8-bromoguanosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate. Nitric oxide induced a greater increase in guanosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate content in coronary arteries from antenatal betamethasone-treated lambs than in arteries from control lambs. Our data suggest that antenatal betamethasone therapy potentiates nitric oxide-mediated relaxation in coronary arteries from preterm lambs, probably by affecting the activity of soluble guanylate cyclase of vascular smooth muscle cells.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, University of California-Los Angeles School of Medicine, Torrance 90509, USA.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: J U
authors.initials: JU
authors.lastname: Raj
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001158:Arteries / Q000187:drug effects / Q000196:embryology; D001623:Betamethasone / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001920:Bradykinin / Q000494:pharmacology; D000001:Calcimycin / Q000494:pharmacology; D003331:Coronary Vessels / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000196:embryology*; D006152:Cyclic GMP / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D005260:Female; D005333:Fetus / Q000502:physiology; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000502:physiology*; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D019335:Nitroarginine / Q000494:pharmacology; D012756:Sheep / Q000196:embryology; D014664:Vasodilation
chemical_list: D019335:Nitroarginine; C016276:8-bromocyclic GMP; D009569:Nitric Oxide; D000001:Calcimycin; D001623:Betamethasone; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase; D006152:Cyclic GMP; D001920:Bradykinin