title: Unaltered endothelium-dependent modulation of contraction in the pulmonary artery of hypertensive rats.
abstract: Involvement of endothelium-derived nitric oxide (EDNO) in alpha-adrenoceptor agonist-induced contractile responses was studied in isolated pulmonary arteries from Wistar Kyoto rats (WKY) and stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRSP). In the presence of propranolol, noradrenaline-induced contraction was potentiated by endothelium removal or by N(G)-nitro-L-arginine (L-NOARG). The magnitude of the potentiation was independent of the noradrenaline concentration. L-NOARG also shifted the concentration-response curves for phenylephrine and methoxamine to the left and upward. Contractile responses to 2-amino-5,6,7,8, -tetrahydro-6-ethyl-4H-oxazolo-(5,4-d)-azepine-dihydrochloride (BHT-933) and 5-bromo-6-(2-imidazolin-2-ylamino)-quinoxaline (UK-14304) were augmented by L-NOARG in a concentration-dependent manner. There were no differences in the effects of L-NOARG on the contractile responses to alpha-adrenoceptor agonists between the preparations from WKY and SHRSP. Endothelium-dependent relaxation in response to acetylcholine was not impaired in the preparations from SHRSP when compared with those from WKY. These observations suggest that the contractile responses to the alpha(1)-adrenoceptor agonists were depressed mainly by basally released EDNO, while the responses to the alpha(2)-adrenoceptor agonists were depressed mainly by EDNO released in response to alpha(2)-adrenoceptor stimulation. The comparable influence of the endothelium on the alpha-adrenoceptor agonist-induced contractions in the pulmonary arteries from WKY and SHRSP, which were markedly different from other arteries, could be explained by the unaltered endothelium-dependent relaxation in the preparations from SHRSP.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kinki University, 3-4-1 Kowakae, Higashi-Osaka, Osaka, Japan.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Matsuda
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sekiguchi
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shimamura
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sunano
mesh_terms: D000316:Adrenergic alpha-Agonists / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects; D001835:Body Weight; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000502:physiology*; D006973:Hypertension / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008729:Methoxamine / Q000494:pharmacology; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000502:physiology; D019335:Nitroarginine / Q000494:pharmacology; D009638:Norepinephrine / Q000494:pharmacology; D010656:Phenylephrine / Q000494:pharmacology; D011651:Pulmonary Artery / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D051381:Rats; D011918:Rats, Inbred SHR; D011921:Rats, Inbred WKY; D014661:Vasoconstriction / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D000316:Adrenergic alpha-Agonists; D010656:Phenylephrine; D019335:Nitroarginine; D009569:Nitric Oxide; D008729:Methoxamine; D009638:Norepinephrine