title: Preconditioning with low concentration NO attenuates subsequent NO-induced apoptosis in vascular smooth muscle cells via HO-1-dependent mitochondrial death pathway.
abstract: Nitric oxide (NO) signaling pathways are important in both the maintenance of vascular homeostasis and disease progression. Overproduction of NO has been associated with ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. Growing evidences suggest that NO preconditioning has cytoprotective effects against I/R injury. However, the mechanism with which NO mediates these effects remains to be elucidated. The purpose of this study was to examine the mechanism of how NO preconditioning inhibits subsequent NO-induced apoptosis in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC), specifically focusing on heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1). According to our data, sodium nitroprusside (SNP) increased HO-1 expression in a concentration dependent manner. Preconditioning with low concentration SNP (0.3mM) inhibited subsequent high concentration SNP (1.5mM)-induced apoptosis, and this effect was reversed by the HO-1 inhibitor SnPP. Low concentration SNP-mediated protection involved p38 kinase inactivation and increased Bcl-2 expression. Furthermore, mitochondrial membrane potential was concomitantly increased with decreased expressions of Bax, Apaf-1, and activity of caspase-3, which was reversed by SnPP treatment. Our results show that low concentration SNP preconditioning suppresses subsequent high concentration SNP-induced apoptosis by inhibiting p38 kinase and mitochondrial death pathway via HO-1-dependent mechanisms in VSMC.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiovascular Diseases, Center for Biomedical Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Nokbun-dong, Eunpyung-gu, Seoul 122-701, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hyun-Jeong
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Kwak
authors.forename: Kyoung-Mi
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Seahyoung
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Hyun-Joung
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.forename: Sang-Hee
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Go
authors.forename: Sang-Mi
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Eom
authors.forename: Hyun-Young
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Park
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001013:Aorta, Thoracic / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D051017:Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D006419:Heme Oxygenase (Decyclizing) / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D053078:Membrane Potential, Mitochondrial / Q000187:drug effects; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D009131:Muscle, Smooth, Vascular / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D032389:Myocytes, Smooth Muscle / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000378:metabolism*; D020030:Nitric Oxide Donors / Q000494:pharmacology; D009599:Nitroprusside / Q000494:pharmacology; D010766:Phosphorylation; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D015854:Up-Regulation / Q000187:drug effects; D048051:p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D051017:Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins; D020030:Nitric Oxide Donors; D009599:Nitroprusside; D009569:Nitric Oxide; D006419:Heme Oxygenase (Decyclizing); C491523:Hmox1 protein, rat; D048051:p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases