Nitric Oxide and Vascular Reactivity in Pregnant Rats with Adriamycin Nephropathy

1997 ◽  
Vol 93 (3) ◽  
pp. 227-234 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mauro Rathaus ◽  
Eduardo Podjarny ◽  
Sydney Benchetrit ◽  
Janice Green ◽  
Jacques Bernheim

1. In previous studies we have shown that, after the administration of adriamycin, hypertension developed in rats who became pregnant (adriamycin-pregnant rats), whereas virgin animals remained normotensive. Subsequently, we showed that this hypertension was prevented by administration of l-arginine, suggesting that deficient synthesis of nitric oxide may be pathogenetic in this model. 2. To further assess the role of nitric oxide in this model, we measured mean arterial blood pressure after administration of l-arginine to adriamycin-pregnant rats or of NG-nitro-l-arginine-methyl ester (l-NAME) to normal pregnant rats. In other experiments, we assessed the response of isolated perfused arterial mesenteric vessels, precontracted with noradrenaline, to acetylcholine, l-arginine or l-NAME. 3. Blood pressure was decreased in normal pregnant rats, whereas it was elevated in adriamycin-pregnant rats. l-NAME treatment increased blood pressure in normal pregnant rats and l-arginine decreased it in adriamycin-pregnant rats. 4. Mesenteric vessels of adriamycin-pregnant rats exibited an exaggerated vasoconstrictory response to noradrenaline, when compared with the blunted response observed in normal pregnancy. The addition of l-NAME in vitro induced a further contraction, significantly greater in normal pregnant rats. The vasodilatory response to acetylcholine and l-arginine was greater in vessels from adriamycin-pregnant rats. In contrast, responses to either nitroprusside or diazoxide were similar in all groups. 5. The results suggest a state of reduced nitric oxide synthesis in rats with adriamycin nephropathy, leading to vascular maladaption and hypertension in pregnancy.

Hypertension ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 76 (Suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Olufunke O Arishe ◽  
Vanessa Dela Justina ◽  
Fernanda B Priviero ◽  
Clinton R Webb

Background: There is a large increase in uterine arterial blood flow during normal pregnancy. Structural and cellular adjustments occur in the uterine vasculature during pregnancy to accommodate this increased blood flow through a process is known as ‘vascular remodeling’. The etiology of preeclampsia involves aberrant placentation and vascular remodeling leading to reduced uteroplacental perfusion. However, the underlying source of the deficient vascular remodeling and the subsequent development of preeclampsia remains to be fully understood. Piezo 1 channels have been shown to be highly expressed in vascular smooth muscle cells of small-diameter arteries and play a role in the structural remodeling of the arteries. Studies have also shown that Piezo 1 is present in uterine arteries and it’s not exclusive to the endothelial cells. Hypothesis: This study tests the hypothesis that reduced Piezo 1 activity contributes to decreased uterine vascular relaxation in hypertensive pregnant rats. Methods: Hypertension was induced by treating the pregnant rats with synthetic CpG ODN (ODN 2395) via three intraperitoneal injections (100μg/rats) while the normotensive controls were treated with saline (vehicle) on the 14 th , 17th and 18 th days of pregnancy. Mean arterial pressure (MAP) was measured. In vitro vascular reactivity of uterine arterial (UA) ring segments were evaluated using isometric wire myograph system. Rings were pre-contracted with 3μM phenylephrine (PE), concentration responses of to Yoda1; a pharmacological agonist of Piezo 1 channel were compared. Statistical analysis was performed using nonlinear regression and Students’ t-test. Results: Our results show that MAP was greater in rats treated with ODN2395 vs untreated rats (112 ± 1 vs 90 ± 1 p =0.0004). Concentration-dependent relaxation responses to Yoda1 were greater in UAs of untreated rats compared to those treated with ODN2395 (EC50 0.06571 ± 0.09781 vs. 0.5774 ± 0.1187 p =0.0018). Conclusion: These results suggest that the reduced vasodilation in pregnancy-associated hypertension may be due to a reduced Piezo 1 channel activity.


2006 ◽  
Vol 291 (2) ◽  
pp. R481-R488 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey L. Segar ◽  
Robert D. Roghair ◽  
Emily M. Segar ◽  
Melissa C. Bailey ◽  
Thomas D. Scholz ◽  
...  

Exposure of the early gestation ovine fetus to exogenous glucocorticoids induces alterations in postnatal cardiovascular physiology, including hypertension. To determine whether autonomic function and systemic vascular reactivity are altered by in utero programming before the development of systemic hypertension, we examined arterial baroreflex function and in vivo hemodynamic and in vitro vascular responses to vasoactive agents in 10- to 14-day-old newborn lambs exposed to early gestation glucocorticoids. Dexamethasone (Dex, 0.28 mg·kg−1·day−1) or saline was administered to pregnant ewes by intravenous infusion over 48 h beginning at 27 days gestation (term 145 days), and lambs were allowed to deliver ( n = 6 in each group). Resting mean arterial blood pressure (MABP; 77 ± 1 vs. 74 ± 3 mmHg) and heart rate (HR; 249 ± 9 vs. 226 ± 21 beats/min) were similar in Dex-exposed and control animals, respectively. The arterial baroreflex curve, relating changes in HR to MABP, was significantly shifted toward higher pressure in the Dex-exposed lambs although no change in the sensitivity (gain) of the response was seen. In vivo changes in blood pressure in response to bolus doses of ANG II (20, 50, and 100 ng/kg) and phenylephrine (2, 5, and 10 μg/kg) were similar in the two groups. However, Dex lambs displayed greater decreases in MABP in response to ganglionic blockade with tetraethylammonium bromide (10 mg/kg; −30 ± 3 vs. −20 ± 3 mmHg, P < 0.05) and greater increases in MABP after nitric oxide synthase blockade with NG-nitro-l-arginine (25 mg/kg; 23 ± 3 vs. 13 ± 2 mmHg, P < 0.05) compared with control lambs. By in vitro wire myography, mesenteric and femoral artery microvessel contractile responses to KCl were similar, whereas responses to endothelin (in mesenteric) and norepinephrine (in femoral) were significantly attenuated in Dex lambs compared with controls. Femoral vasodilatory responses to forskolin and sodium nitroprusside were similar in the two groups ( n = 4). These findings suggest that resetting of the baroreflex, accompanied by increased sympathetic activity and altered nitric oxide-mediated compensatory vasodilatory function, may be important contributors to programming of hypertension.


2016 ◽  
Vol 311 (5) ◽  
pp. R851-R857 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank T. Spradley ◽  
Jennifer M. Sasser ◽  
Jacqueline B. Musall ◽  
Jennifer C. Sullivan ◽  
Joey P. Granger

Although obesity increases the risk for hypertension in pregnancy, the mechanisms responsible are unknown. Increased nitric oxide (NO) production results in vasodilation and reduced blood pressure during normal pregnancy in lean rats; however, the role of NO is less clear during obese pregnancies. We examined the impact of obesity on NO synthase (NOS)-mediated regulation of blood pressure during pregnancy by testing the hypothesis that NOS activity, expression, and regulation of vascular tone and blood pressure are reduced in obese pregnant rats. At gestational day 19, melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R)-deficient obese rats (MC4R) had greater body weight and fat mass with elevated blood pressure and circulating sFlt-1 levels compared with MC4R pregnant rats. MC4R pregnant rats also had less circulating cGMP levels and reduced total NOS enzymatic activity and expression in mesenteric arteries. Despite decreased biochemical measures of NO/NOS in MC4R rats, NOS inhibition enhanced vasoconstriction only in mesenteric arteries from MC4R rats, suggesting greater NOS-mediated tone. To examine the role of NOS on blood pressure regulation in obese pregnant rats, MC4R and MC4R pregnant rats were administered the nonselective NOS inhibitor NG-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester (l-NAME, 100 mg/l) from gestational day 14 to 19 in drinking water. The degree by which l-NAME raised blood pressure was similar between obese and lean pregnant rats. Although MC4R obese pregnant rats had elevated blood pressure associated with reduced total NOS activity and expression, they had enhanced NOS-mediated attenuation of vasoconstriction, with no evidence of alterations in NOS-mediated regulation of blood pressure.


2007 ◽  
Vol 293 (4) ◽  
pp. R1657-R1665 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annie Beauséjour ◽  
Véronique Houde ◽  
Karine Bibeau ◽  
Rébecca Gaudet ◽  
Jean St-Louis ◽  
...  

Sodium supplementation given for 1 wk to nonpregnant rats induces changes that are adequate to maintain renal and circulatory homeostasis as well as arterial blood pressure. However, in pregnant rats, proteinuria, fetal growth restriction, and placental oxidative stress are observed. Moreover, the decrease in blood pressure and expansion of circulatory volume, normally associated with pregnancy, are prevented by high-sodium intake. We hypothesized that, in these pregnant rats, a loss of the balance between prooxidation and antioxidation, particularly in kidneys and heart, disturbs the normal course of pregnancy and leads to manifestations such as gestational hypertension. We thus investigated the presence of oxidative/nitrosative stress in heart and kidneys following high-sodium intake in pregnant rats. Markers of this stress [8-isoprostaglandin F2α (8-iso-PGF2α) and nitrotyrosine], producer of nitric oxide [nitric oxide synthases (NOSs)], and antioxidants [superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase] were measured. Then, molecules (Na+-K+-ATPase and aconitase) or process [apoptosis (Bax and Bcl-2), inflammation (monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, connective tissue growth factor, and TNF-α)] susceptible to free radicals was determined. In kidneys from pregnant rats on 1.8% NaCl-water, NOSs, apoptotic index, and nitrotyrosine expression were increased, whereas Na+-K+-ATPase mRNA and activity were decreased. In the left cardiac ventricle of these rats, heightened nitrotyrosine, 8-iso-PGF2α, and catalase activity together with reduced endothelial NOS protein expression and SOD and aconitase activities were observed. These findings suggest that oxidative/nitrosative stress in kidney and left cardiac ventricle destabilizes the normal course of pregnancy and could lead to gestational hypertension.


1999 ◽  
Vol 117 (5) ◽  
pp. 197-204 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nilton Hideto Takiuti ◽  
Maria Helena Cetelli Carvalho ◽  
Soubhi Kahhale ◽  
Dorothy Nigro ◽  
Hermes Vieira Barbeiro ◽  
...  

CONTEXT: The exact mechanism involved in changes in blood pressure and peripheral vascular resistance during pregnancy is unknown. OBJECTIVE:To evaluate the importance of endothelium-derivated relaxing factor (EDRF) and its main component, nitric oxide, in blood pressure and vascular reactivity in pregnant rats. DESIGN: Clinical trial in experimentation animals. SETTING: University laboratory of Pharmacology. SAMPLE: Female Wistar rats with normal blood pressure, weight (152 to 227 grams) and age (90 to 116 days). INTERVENTION: The rats were divided in to four groups: pregnant rats treated with L-NAME (13 rats); pregnant control rats (8 rats); virgin rats treated with L-NAME (10 rats); virgin control rats (12 rats). The vascular preparations and caudal blood pressure were obtained at the end of pregnancy, or after the administration of L-NAME in virgin rats. MAIN MEASUREMENTS: The caudal blood pressure and the vascular response to acetylcholine in pre-contracted aortic rings, both with and without endothelium, and the effect of nitric oxide inhibition, Nw-L-nitro-arginine methyl-ester (L-NAME), in pregnant and virgin rats. The L-NAME was administered in the drinking water over a 10-day period. RESULTS: The blood pressure decreased in pregnancy. Aortic rings of pregnant rats were more sensitive to acetylcholine than those of virgin rats. After L-NAME treatment, the blood pressure increased and relaxation was blocked in both groups. The fetal-placental unit weight of the L-NAME group was lower than that of the control group. CONCLUSION: Acetylcholine-induced vasorelaxation sensitivity was greater in pregnant rats and that blood pressure increased after L-NAME administration while the acetylcholine-induced vasorelaxation response was blocked.


1978 ◽  
Vol 235 (5) ◽  
pp. C168-C179 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. E. Garfield ◽  
S. M. Sims ◽  
M. S. Kannan ◽  
E. E. Daniel

Gap junctions between smooth muscle cells of the myometrium of pregnant rats were found only immediately prior to, during and immediately after parturition by quantitative thin-section and freeze-fracture microscopy. Ovariectomy of 16- to 17-days-pregnant rats resulted in premature termination of pregnancy and the appearance of gap junctions. Methods that prolonged normal pregnancy in rats or maintained pregnancy in ovariectomized animals (progesterone treatment) prevented the appearance of gap junctions. Gap junctions formed in tissues incubated for 24--96 h in vitro without any hormonal influence. We propose that gap junctions are essential for normal labor and delivery for synchronous contraction of the muscle of the uterus. We present a model for control of parturition that may apply to other animals including humans. The model proposes: 1) the possible roles progesterone, prostaglandins, or estrogens may play in initiating gap-junction formation; 2) that the formation of gap junctions is a necessary step in activation of the myometrium leading to labor; and 3) that agents used to stimulate or inhibit labor may do so by affecting gap junctions.


Endocrinology ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 150 (5) ◽  
pp. 2382-2387 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karim Sabrane ◽  
Markus-N. Kruse ◽  
Alexandra Gazinski ◽  
Michaela Kuhn

Atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP), via its guanylyl cyclase (GC)-A receptor, plays a key role in the regulation of arterial blood pressure (ABP) and volume. Endothelial-restricted deletion of GC-A in mice [endothelial cell (EC) GC-A knockout (KO)] resulted in hypervolemic hypertension, demonstrating that the endothelium participates in the hypotensive and hypovolemic actions of ANP. Published studies showed that ANP modulates the release of the vasoactive factors nitric oxide (NO) and endothelin-1 (ET-1) from cultured endothelia. Based on these observations, we examined the role of these endothelial factors in ANP-dependent vasodilatation (studied in isolated arteries) and chronic regulation of ABP (measured in awake mice by tail-cuff plethysmography). ANP induced concentration-dependent vasorelaxations of aortic, carotid, and pulmonary arteries. These responses were not different between control and EC GC-A KO mice, and were significantly enhanced after inhibition of NO synthase [by N(G)-nitro-l-arginine-methyl ester]. Intravenous administration of N(G)-nitro-l-arginine-methyl ester to conscious mice significantly increased ABP. The extent of these hypertensive reactions was similar in EC GC-A KO mice and control littermates (increases in systolic blood pressure by ∼25 mm Hg). Conversely, antagonism of ET-1/endothelin-A receptors with BQ-123 reduced ABP significantly and comparably in both genotypes (by ∼11 mm Hg). Finally, the vascular and tissue expression levels of components of the NO system and of immunoreactive ET-1 were not different in control and EC GC-A KO mice. We conclude that the endothelium, but not modulation of endothelial NO or ET-1, participates in the chronic regulation of ABP by ANP.


1994 ◽  
Vol 14 (6) ◽  
pp. 939-943 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zheng Gang Zhang ◽  
Michael Chopp ◽  
Kenneth I. Maynard ◽  
Michael A. Moskowitz

CBF increases concomitantly with cortical spreading depression (CSD). We tested the hypothesis that CBF changes during CSD are mediated by nitric oxide (NO). Male Wistar rats (n = 23) were subjected to KCl-induced CSD before and after administration of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibitors N-nitro-l-arginine (L-NNA) or N-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) and in nontreated animals. CBF, CSD, and mean arterial blood pressure were recorded. Brain NOS activity was measured in vitro in control, L-NNA, and L-NAME-treated rats by the conversion of [3H]arginine to [3H]citrulline. Our data show that the NOS inhibitors did not significantly change regional CBF (rCBF) during CSD, even though cortical NOS activity was profoundly depressed and systemic arterial blood pressure was significantly increased. Our data suggest that rCBF during CSD in rats is not regulated by NO.


2003 ◽  
Vol 285 (5) ◽  
pp. F938-F944 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali A. Khraibi ◽  
Tianzheng Yu ◽  
Daiyi Tang

Normal pregnancy is characterized by sodium conservation and increase in plasma volume, yet the natriuretic response to acute saline volume expansion (VE) is intact in pregnant rats. Nitric oxide (NO) has been suggested to play a role in renal and cardiovascular adaptations to normal pregnancy. The objective of this study was to determine the role of NO in the natriuretic and diuretic responses to VE during pregnancy. Infusion of NG-monomethyl-l-arginine (l-NMMA) was used to inhibit NO synthesis. Nine groups of Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were studied: nonpregnant (NP-VE, n = 7), midterm pregnant (MP-VE, n = 8), and late-term pregnant (LP-VE, n = 7) SD groups that underwent VE alone after a control period; NP-l-NMMA ( n = 7), MP-l-NMMA ( n = 8), and LP-l-NMMA ( n = 7) SD groups that were infused with l-NMMA after a control period; and another three groups of SD rats (NP-VE-l-NMMA, n = 8; MP-VE-l-NMMA, n = 7; and LP-VE-l-NMMA, n = 12) that underwent simultaneous VE and l-NMMA infusion after a control period. The change in fractional excretion of sodium was 7.22 ± 1.03% for NPVE, 9.89 ± 1.85% for NP-l-NMMA, and 17.66 ± 1.85% for NP-VE-l-NMMA ( P < 0.05 vs. NP-VE and NP-l-NMMA); 6.61 ± 1.07% for MP-VE, 7.99 ± 1.92% for MP-l-NMMA, and 10.24 ± 1.91% for MP-VE-l-NMMA [not significant (NS) vs. MP-VE and MP-l-NMMA]; 8.20 ± 1.92% for LP-VE, 8.09 ± 0.70% for LP-l-NMMA, and 7.57 ± 1.11% for LP-VE-l-NMMA (both NS vs. LP-VE and LP-l-NMMA). The increase in renal interstitial hydrostatic pressure was significantly greater in all NP compared with pregnant groups with similar experimental intervention (i.e., VE, l-NMMA, or VE-l-NMMA). In conclusion, the natriuretic and diuretic responses to VE and l-NMMA infusion were additive in NP but not in pregnant rats, indicating a possible lower ability of pregnant rats to respond to combined significant natriuretic and diuretic stimuli.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document