title: Influence of prenatal ethanol exposure on vascular contractile response in rat thoracic aorta.
abstract: Fetal alcohol syndrome is associated with cardiovascular malformation. However, the impact of prenatal ethanol exposure on vascular function is not clear. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of prenatal ethanol exposure on vascular response in adulthood. Timed-pregnancy, female rats were fed an ethanol-containing liquid diet (36% calorically or 6.36% [vol./vol.]) or control diet from gestation day 2 until labor. The pups continued to receive a standard rat chow through adulthood, and the force-generating capacity of aortic ring segments was examined. Prenatal ethanol exposure did not significantly affect postnatal growth, but it did lead to elevated blood pressure in adulthood. The contractile response to potassium chloride was similar in vessels with intact endothelium, although the median effective concentration (EC(50)) was significantly reduced by prenatal ethanol exposure in rings with denuded endothelium. The response to norepinephrine was attenuated by prenatal ethanol exposure in rings with either intact or denuded endothelium. The endothelium-dependent relaxation to carbamylcholine chloride was significantly attenuated by prenatal ethanol exposure. Vasorelaxant response to the nitric oxide donor sodium nitroprusside or beta-adrenergic agonist isoproterenol was similar between control and prenatal-ethanol-exposed groups with either intact or denuded endothelium. Ethanol elicited a dose-dependent endothelium-dependent vasorelaxation, which was comparable between the two animal groups. The ethanol-induced endothelium-dependent vasorelaxation was attenuated by the nitric oxide synthase inhibitor Nomega-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester. These findings seem to indicate that prenatal ethanol exposure contributes to alterations of both endothelium-dependent and endothelium-independent vascular contractile responses.
authors: Department of Pharmacology, Physiology, and Therapeutics, University of North Dakota School of Medicine, 501 N. Columbia Road, Grand Forks, ND 58203, USA.
authors: Leigh Anne
authors: LA
authors: Turcotte
authors: Nicholas S
authors: NS
authors: Aberle
authors: Faye L
authors: FL
authors: Norby
authors: Guei Jane
authors: GJ
authors: Wang
authors: Jun
authors: J
authors: Ren
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001013:Aorta, Thoracic / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D002217:Carbachol / Q000494:pharmacology; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D000431:Ethanol / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D007545:Isoproterenol / Q000494:pharmacology; D008297:Male; D019331:NG-Nitroarginine Methyl Ester / Q000494:pharmacology; D009599:Nitroprusside / Q000494:pharmacology; D009638:Norepinephrine / Q000494:pharmacology; D011189:Potassium Chloride / Q000494:pharmacology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D014661:Vasoconstriction / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D009599:Nitroprusside; D000431:Ethanol; D011189:Potassium Chloride; D002217:Carbachol; D007545:Isoproterenol; D019331:NG-Nitroarginine Methyl Ester; D009638:Norepinephrine