title: Volume-weighted mean nuclear volume and numerical nuclear density in the cardiomyocyte following enalapril and verapamil treatment.
abstract: The estimation of the volume-weighted mean nuclear volume, nu(nu), and the numerical nuclear density in the plane, N(A), was used to analyze cardiomyocyte nuclei in the condition of cardiac hypertrophy caused by nitric oxide (NO) synthesis blockade and simultaneous antihypertensive treatment for 40 days (four groups of ten rats each: control, L-NAME, L-NAME+enalapril, L-NAME+verapamil). The blood pressure (BP) increased 71% in the L-NAME group. In the L-NAME+enalapril and L-NAME+verapamil groups, the BP did not show any alteration when compared with the respective controls. In comparison with the control group, nu(nu) was 250% greater, and the N(A) was 25% smaller in the L-NAME animals, while no difference occurred in the other two groups. With respect to cardiomyocyte nuclear size, the present results suggest a beneficial effect of the angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor enalapril and the calcium channel blocker verapamil when NO synthesis is blockaded.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Morphometry and Cardiovascular Morphology, Centro Biomédico, Instituto de Biologia, State University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. mandarim@uerj.br
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Mandarim-de-Lacerda
authors.forename: L M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Pereira
mesh_terms: D000806:Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers / Q000494:pharmacology; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D004656:Enalapril / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D008297:Male; D009206:Myocardium / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D019331:NG-Nitroarginine Methyl Ester / Q000494:pharmacology; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D014700:Verapamil / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D000806:Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors; D000959:Antihypertensive Agents; D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D004656:Enalapril; D014700:Verapamil; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase; D019331:NG-Nitroarginine Methyl Ester