title: Distribution of kappa-opioid receptor in the pulmonary artery and its changes during hypoxia.
abstract: The present study evaluated the distribution of kappa-opioid receptors (kappa-ORs) in pulmonary arteries (PAs) in rats and investigated whether kappa-ORs are altered in PAs during hypoxia. An animal model of hypobaric/hypoxic pulmonary hypertension and a pulmonary artery smooth muscle cell (PASMC) model of hypoxia were utilized. Distribution of kappa-ORs was determined by fluorescence immunohistochemistry and changes in kappa-ORs expression in PAs and PASMCs were determined by fluorescence immunohistochemistry or Western blot techniques. The kappa-ORs were primarily distributed in the smooth muscle layer of the PAs and in the nucleus of PASMCs. The expression of the kappa-ORs were increased in PAs of rats subjected to hypoxia for 1-4 week (P < 0.01). Accordingly, the expression of kappa-ORs in PASMCs were also increased when subjected to hypoxia for 12-36 hr (P < 0.05). The present study has provided evidence for the first time of the precise location of kappa-ORs in PAs and PASMCs of rats and that hypoxia upregulates expression of kappa-ORs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic Surgery, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China.
authors.forename: Pai
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.forename: Lu-Yu
authors.initials: LY
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Rong
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.forename: Shu-Miao
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Yue-Min
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Yu-Zhen
authors.initials: YZ
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Alan David
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Kaye
authors.forename: Jian-Ming
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Pei
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D000860:Hypoxia / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D009130:Muscle, Smooth / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D032389:Myocytes, Smooth Muscle / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D011651:Pulmonary Artery / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000503:physiopathology; D011652:Pulmonary Circulation / Q000502:physiology; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D017473:Receptors, Opioid, kappa / Q000378:metabolism*; D015854:Up-Regulation / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D017473:Receptors, Opioid, kappa