title: Effect of chronic IL-6 infusion on acute pressor responses to vasoconstrictors in mice.
abstract: Interleukin (IL)-6 has been implicated as a contributing factor in the pathogenesis of hypertension, although the mechanisms involved are unclear. Studies conducted in vitro suggest that IL-6 may have a direct effect on vascular tone and may modulate constrictor responses to agonists. Whether this effect can be observed in vivo is unknown. Therefore, mice were treated with either IL-6 (16 ng/h sc) or vehicle for 14 days, and the acute blood pressure and heart rate responses to endothelin (ET)-1, angiotensin II (ANG II), and phenylephrine (PE) were assessed under isoflurane anesthesia. Blood pressure responses to ET-1 were identical in vehicle- and IL-6-infused mice, both in the presence and the absence of ganglion blockade with chlorisondamine. The fall in heart rate during ET-1 responses was significantly attenuated in IL-6-infused mice with autonomic reflexes intact (vehicle vs. IL-6, P < 0.05 at 1 and 3 nmol/kg of ET-1), but this difference was not observed after ganglionic blockade. Both blood pressure and heart rate responses to ANG II were indistinguishable between IL-6- and vehicle-infused mice, as were responses to PE except for a significant increase in the blood pressure response and decrease in the heart rate response in IL-6-infused mice observed only at the highest dose of PE (300 microg/kg; P < 0.05). These findings show that, despite what might be predicted from studies conducted in vitro, chronic exposure to elevated plasma IL-6 concentrations in itself does not predispose the mouse to enhanced responsiveness to vasoconstrictors in vivo.
authors.affiliation: Vascular Biology Center, Medical College of Georgia, 1459 Laney Walker Blvd., Augusta GA 30912, USA.
authors.forename: Erika I
authors.initials: EI
authors.lastname: Boesen
authors.forename: David M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Pollock
mesh_terms: D000804:Angiotensin II / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D019332:Endothelin-1 / Q000494:pharmacology; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D006973:Hypertension / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000097:blood / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D010656:Phenylephrine / Q000494:pharmacology; D011311:Pressoreceptors / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D014662:Vasoconstrictor Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D019332:Endothelin-1; D015850:Interleukin-6; D014662:Vasoconstrictor Agents; D000804:Angiotensin II; D010656:Phenylephrine