title: Role of nitric oxide in post-ischemic cerebral hyperemia in anesthetized rats.
abstract: This study was undertaken to determine the extent to which nitric oxide (NO) mechanisms are involved in cerebral hyperemia following global brain ischemia. The vertebral arteries were cauterized through the first alar foramina in anesthetized male Sprague-Dawley rats and followed by 20-min occlusion of the common carotid arteries. Blood flow from the parietal cerebral cortex was measured using laser-Doppler flowmetry. In saline-treated animals, carotid occlusion reduced cerebral blood flow by approximately 95% with a maximal hyperemia of about 400% observed after 15 min of reperfusion. Pre-treatment with the nonspecific NO synthase inhibitor, L-NAME (NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester; 2, 10 and 50 mg kg(-1)), produced dose-related depression of post-ischemic hyperemia, whereas D-NAME (10 mg kg(-1)) was inactive. Pre-treatment with L-arginine (300 mg kg(-1), i.v.) prevented L-NAME attenuation of cerebral hyperemia. The selective neuronal NO synthase inhibitor, 7-nitroindazole (30 mg kg(-1)), was without significant depressant effect. These results suggest that NO (largely from vascular endothelium) is instrumental in development of post-ischemic cerebral hyperemia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City 73190, USA.
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Humphreys
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Koss
mesh_terms: D000758:Anesthesia; D000818:Animals; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000150:complications*; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000187:drug effects; D002560:Cerebrovascular Circulation; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D006940:Hyperemia / Q000209:etiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D008297:Male; D019331:NG-Nitroarginine Methyl Ester / Q000494:pharmacology; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D015424:Reperfusion
chemical_list: D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D009569:Nitric Oxide; D019331:NG-Nitroarginine Methyl Ester