Paradoxical coronary microcirculatory constriction during ischemia: a synergic function for nitric oxide and endothelin

2006 ◽  
Vol 291 (4) ◽  
pp. H1814-H1821 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Kusmic ◽  
Guido Lazzerini ◽  
Flavio Coceani ◽  
Renata Barsacchi ◽  
Antonio L'Abbate ◽  
...  

A paradoxical microcirculatory constriction has been observed in hearts of patients with ischemia, secondary to coronary stenosis. Here, using the isolated mouse heart (Langendorff), we examined the mechanism of this response, assuming involvement of nitric oxide (NO) and endothelin-1 (ET-1) systems. Perfusion pressure was maintained at 65 mmHg for 70 min ( protocol 1), or it was reduced to 30 mmHg over two intervals, between the 20- and 40-min marks ( protocol 2) or from the 20-min mark onward ( protocol 3). In protocol 1, coronary resistance (CR) remained steady in untreated heart, whereas it progressively increased during treatment with the NO synthesis inhibitor NG-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester (l-NAME) (2.7-fold) or the ETA antagonist BQ-610 (2.8 fold). The ETB antagonist BQ-788 had instead no effect by itself but curtailed vasoconstriction to BQ-610. In protocol 2, hypotension raised CR by 2.2-fold. This response was blunted by reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavengers (mannitol and superoxide dismutase plus catalase) and was converted into vasodilation by l-NAME, BQ-610, or BQ-788. Restoration of normal pressure was followed by vasodilation and vasoconstriction, respectively, in untreated and treated preparations. In protocol 3, CR progressively increased with hypotension in the absence but not presence of l-NAME or BQ-610. We conclude that the coronary vasculature is normally relaxed by two concerted processes, a direct action of NO and ET-1 curtailing an ETB2-mediated tonic vasoconstriction through ETA activation. The negative feedback mechanism on ETB2 subsides during hypotension, and the ensuing vasoconstriction is ascribed to ET-1 activating ETA and ETB2 and reactive nitrogen oxide species originating from ROS-NO interaction.

1996 ◽  
Vol 271 (3) ◽  
pp. L419-L424 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Oka ◽  
M. Ohnishi ◽  
H. Takahashi ◽  
S. Soma ◽  
K. Hasunuma ◽  
...  

A rebound phenomenon (severe arterial desaturation and pulmonary vasoconstriction) has been observed in some patients with pulmonary hypertension after sudden discontinuation of nitric oxide (NO) inhalation therapy. The mechanism responsible for this phenomenon is unknown. It has recently been reported that NO synthase (NOS) can be inhibited by NO as a negative feedback mechanism. We therefore hypothesized that this rebound phenomenon might be attributable to reduced endogenous NO production due to inhibition of pulmonary endothelial NOS (eNOS) activity by inhaled NO. To test this hypothesis, vasoreactivities were compared in isolated perfused lungs from rats exposed to 40 ppm NO gas and room air for 2 days. The pressor responses to angiotensin II and hypoxia of lungs from rats exposed to NO were markedly potentiated and their depressor response to bradykinin was considerably impaired, whereas that to sodium nitroprusside was preserved, compared with the responses of those exposed to room air. This altered pulmonary vasoreactivity was also induced by lower concentrations of inhaled NO (as low as 1 ppm) and was completely reversed by discontinuation of NO inhalation for several (< 8) hours. The expression of eNOS mRNA by lungs isolated from rats exposed to 40 ppm NO and room air for 2 days did not differ. These results suggest that pulmonary endogenous NO production is reversibly reduced after relatively short-term NO inhalation, which probably inhibits eNOS activity directly. We speculate that reduced production of pulmonary endogenous NO by exogenous (inhaled) NO could be the mechanism responsible for this rebound phenomenon.


1996 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 90-96
Author(s):  
S Arima ◽  
Y Ren ◽  
L A Juncos ◽  
S Ito

Despite evidence that platelet-activating factor (PAF) is produced by the glomerulus, its direct action on the glomerular microcirculation is poorly understood. It was recently reported that at picomolar concentrations, PAF dilates isolated microperfused afferent arterioles (Af-Art) via nitric oxide (NO). The present study tested the hypothesis that PAF acts on the glomerulus to release NO, which in turn controls the resistance of the efferent arteriole (Ef-Art). Rabbit Ef-Art were perfused from the distal end (retrograde perfusion [RP]) to eliminate the influence of the glomerulus, or through the glomerulus from the end of the Af-Art (orthograde perfusion [OP]) to maintain the influence of the glomerulus. Ef-Art were preconstricted by approximately 40% with norepinephrine and increasing doses of PAF were added to both the arteriolar perfusate and bath. Only with OP did PAF at picomolar concentrations cause significant dilation: at 400 pmol, the diameter increased by 64 +/- 11% from the preconstricted level (N = 6, P < 0.01). This dilation was completely abolished by pretreatment with an NO-synthesis inhibitor. To study its possible constrictor action, PAF was added to nonpreconstricted Ef-Art. At nanomolar concentrations, PAF constricted Ef-Art similarly in both RP and OP: at 40 nM, the diameter decreased by 24 +/- 4% (N = 6, P < 0.01) and 20 +/- 2% (N = 6, P < 0.01), respectively. This constriction was attenuated by pretreatment with indomethacin (Indo) in both RP (14 +/- 2%, N = 7; P < 0.02 versus without Indo) and OP (10 +/- 2%, N = 6; P < 0.02 versus without Indo). In conclusion: (1) at picomolar concentrations, PAF stimulates the glomerulus to release NO, which in turn dilates the Ef-Art; and (2) at nanomolar concentrations, PAF constricts the Ef-Art partly through release of cyclooxygenase metabolites. Thus, PAF may play a role in glomerular hemodynamics under various physiological and pathological conditions.


Author(s):  
S. Jalalah ◽  
K. Kovacs ◽  
E. Horvath

Lactotrophs, as many other endocrine cells, change their morphology in response to factors influencing their secretory activity. Secretion of prolactin (PRL) from lactotrophs, like that of other anterior pituitary hormones, is under the control of the hypothalamus. Unlike most anterior pituitary hormones, PRL has no apparent target gland which could modulate the endocrine activity of lactotrophs. It is generally agreed that PRL regulates its own release from lactotrophs via the short loop negative feedback mechanism exerted at the level of the hypothalamus or the pituitary. Accordingly, ultrastructural morphology of lactotrophs is not constant; it is changing in response to high PRL levels showing signs of suppressed hormone synthesis and secretion.By transmission electron microscopy and morphometry, we have studied the morphology of lactotrophs in nontumorous (NT) portions of 7 human pituitaries containing PRL-secreting adenoma; these lactotrophs were exposed to abnormally high PRL levels.


Cells ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 1887
Author(s):  
Inbal Dagan ◽  
Raz Palty

Calcium (Ca2+) signaling plays a dichotomous role in cellular biology, controlling cell survival and proliferation on the one hand and cellular toxicity and cell death on the other. Store-operated Ca2+ entry (SOCE) by CRAC channels represents a major pathway for Ca2+ entry in non-excitable cells. The CRAC channel has two key components, the endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ sensor stromal interaction molecule (STIM) and the plasma-membrane Ca2+ channel Orai. Physical coupling between STIM and Orai opens the CRAC channel and the resulting Ca2+ flux is regulated by a negative feedback mechanism of slow Ca2+ dependent inactivation (SCDI). The identification of the SOCE-associated regulatory factor (SARAF) and investigations of its role in SCDI have led to new functional and molecular insights into how SOCE is controlled. In this review, we provide an overview of the functional and molecular mechanisms underlying SCDI and discuss how the interaction between SARAF, STIM1, and Orai1 shapes Ca2+ signaling in cells.


2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (21) ◽  
pp. eaaz4707 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rafael Tapia-Rojo ◽  
Alvaro Alonso-Caballero ◽  
Julio M. Fernandez

Vinculin binds unfolded talin domains in focal adhesions, which recruits actin filaments to reinforce the mechanical coupling of this organelle. However, it remains unknown how this interaction is regulated and its impact on the force transmission properties of this mechanotransduction pathway. Here, we use magnetic tweezers to measure the interaction between vinculin head and the talin R3 domain under physiological forces. For the first time, we resolve individual binding events as a short contraction of the unfolded talin polypeptide caused by the reformation of the vinculin-binding site helices, which dictates a biphasic mechanism that regulates this interaction. Force favors vinculin binding by unfolding talin and exposing the vinculin-binding sites; however, the coil-to-helix contraction introduces an energy penalty that increases with force, defining an optimal binding regime. This mechanism implies that the talin-vinculin-actin association could operate as a negative feedback mechanism to stabilize force on focal adhesions.


2020 ◽  
pp. 1-33
Author(s):  
Jean-Bernard Chatelain ◽  
Kirsten Ralf

This paper compares different implementations of monetary policy in a new-Keynesian setting. We can show that a shift from Ramsey optimal policy under short-term commitment (based on a negative feedback mechanism) to a Taylor rule (based on a positive feedback mechanism) corresponds to a Hopf bifurcation with opposite policy advice and a change of the dynamic properties. This bifurcation occurs because of the ad hoc assumption that interest rate is a forward-looking variable when policy targets (inflation and output gap) are forward-looking variables in the new-Keynesian theory.


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