title: Effects of cold exposure and shear stress on endothelial nitric oxide synthase activation.
abstract: Endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) is the primary enzyme that produces nitric oxide (NO), which plays an important role in blood vessel relaxation. eNOS activation is stimulated by various mechanical forces, such as shear stress. Several studies have shown that local cooling of the human finger causes strong vasoconstriction, followed after several minutes by cold-induced vasodilation (CIVD). However, the role played by endothelial cells (ECs) in blood vessel regulation in respond to cold temperatures is not fully understood. In this study, we found that low temperature alone does not significantly increase or decrease eNOS activation in ECs. We further found that the combination of shear stress with temperature change leads to a significant increase in eNOS activation at 37°C and 28°C, and a decrease at 4°C. These results show that ECs play an important role in blood vessel regulation under shear stress and low temperature.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Shibaura Institute of Technology, 3-7-5 Toyosu, Koto-ku, Tokyo 135-8548, Japan.
authors.forename: Kamariah
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Binti Md Isa
authors.forename: Naoto
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kawasaki
authors.forename: Keiichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ueyama
authors.forename: Tateki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sumii
authors.forename: Susumu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kudo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003080:Cold Temperature; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000201:enzymology / Q000502:physiology*; D004789:Enzyme Activation; D006801:Humans; D052250:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type III / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D033081:Shear Strength; D013314:Stress, Mechanical
chemical_list: C496314:NOS3 protein, human; D052250:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type III