Effect of inhibitors of glutathione S-transferase on glyceryl trinitrate activity in isolated rat aorta

We investigated the role of glutathione S-transferases (enzymes known to biotransform organic nitrates) in the vascular action of glyceryl trinitrate (GTN). Relaxation of phenylephrine-contracted rat aortic strips was assessed in the presence or absence of the glutathione S-transferase inhibitors Basilen Blue, bromosulfophthalein, Rose Bengal, hematin, chlorotriphenyltin, and (octyloxy)benzoylvinylglutathione. Whereas none of the inhibitors increased the EC50 for GTN relaxation, glutathione S-transferase activity in the 100 000 × g supernatant fraction of rat aorta was inhibited markedly by most of the inhibitors. In addition, GTN-stimulated activation of aortic guanylyl cyclase in broken-cell preparations was attenuated by all of the glutathione S-transferase inhibitors, suggesting a direct inhibitory action on guanylyl cyclase. In other experiments using aortic strips preexposed to phenylephrine, the inhibitors had no effect on GTN-induced cyclic GMP accumulation or on vascular biotransformation of GTN. In contrast, both Basilen Blue and bromosulfophthalein significantly inhibited GTN-induced relaxation of K+-contracted aortic strips, and Basilen Blue significantly inhibited GTN biotransformation in aortic strips preexposed to 25 mM K+. This may be due to a more favourable electrochemical gradient for entry of the inhibitors into membrane-depolarized tissues. We conclude that vascular glutathione S-transferases play a role in mediating the vasodilator actions of GTN in intact tissues in vitro, but that this appears to depend upon the nature of the contractile agent used in such studies.Key words: glyceryl trinitrate, glutathione S-transferase, cyclic GMP, vascular smooth muscle, biotransformation.