title: Structural alterations in the heart after long-term L-NAME and D-NAME treatment.
abstract: N(G)-nitro-D-arginine methyl ester (D-NAME), considered as an inactive enantiomer of NAME, is generally used as a negative control for NO synthase inhibition with L-NAME. The aim of this work was to compare the effect of L-NAME (20 and 40 mg/kg/day), and D-NAME (40 mg/kg/day) on hemodynamic and structural parameters in the rat cardiovascular system. After 4 weeks of treatment, blood pressure and left ventricle weight/body weight ratio increased significantly in all studied groups versus control. Myocardial fibrosis (in %) represented 0.94 +/- 0.04 in control, 4.70 +/- 0.39 in L-NAME (20 mg/kg/day), 10.54 +/- 0.91 in L-NAME (40 mg/kg/day) and 5.25 +/- 0.46 in D-NAME (40 mg/kg/day) group. We conclude that in a long-term experiment D-NAME provokes similar changes in cardiovascular system like L-NAME.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Normal and Pathological Physiology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovak Republic. pechan@unpf.savba.sk
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Pechánová
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Bernátová
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Babál
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000633:toxicity; D005355:Fibrosis; D006321:Heart / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000503:physiopathology; D017379:Hypertrophy, Left Ventricular / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D009206:Myocardium / Q000473:pathology; D019331:NG-Nitroarginine Methyl Ester / Q000737:chemistry / Q000633:toxicity*; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D013237:Stereoisomerism
chemical_list: D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase; D019331:NG-Nitroarginine Methyl Ester