In vivo assessment of microvascular nitric oxide production and its relation with blood flow

2001 ◽  
Vol 280 (3) ◽  
pp. H1222-H1231 ◽  
Author(s):  
X. F. Figueroa ◽  
A. D. Martínez ◽  
D. R. González ◽  
P. I. Jara ◽  
S. Ayala ◽  
...  

To assess the hypothesis that microvascular nitric oxide (NO) is critical to maintain blood flow and solute exchange, we quantified NO production in the hamster cheek pouch in vivo, correlating it with vascular dynamics. Hamsters (100–120 g) were anesthetized and prepared for measurement of microvessel diameters by intravital microscopy, of plasma flow by isotopic sodium clearance, and of NO production by chemiluminescence. Analysis of endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) location by immunocytochemistry and subcellular fractionation revealed that eNOS was present in arterioles and venules and was 67 ± 7% membrane bound. Basal NO release was 60.1 ± 5.1 pM/min ( n = 35), and plasma flow was 2.95 ± 0.27 μl/min ( n = 29). Local NO synthase inhibition with 30 μM N ω-nitro-l-arginine reduced NO production to 8.6 ± 2.6 pmol/min (−83 ± 5%, n = 9) and plasma flow to 1.95 ± 0.15 μl/min (−28 ± 12%, n = 17) within 30–45 min, in parallel with constriction of arterioles (9–14%) and venules (19–25%). The effects of N ω-nitro-l-arginine (10–30 μM) were proportional to basal microvascular conductance ( r = 0.7, P < 0.05) and fully prevented by 1 mM l-arginine. We conclude that in this tissue, NO production contributes to 35–50% of resting microvascular conductance and plasma-tissue exchange.

2009 ◽  
Vol 107 (4) ◽  
pp. 1037-1050 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena Grossini ◽  
Claudio Molinari ◽  
David A. S. G. Mary ◽  
Francesca Uberti ◽  
Philippe Primo Caimmi ◽  
...  

Systemic intermedin (IMD)1–47 administration has been reported to result in vasodilation and marked hypotension through calcitonin-related receptor complexes. However, its effects on the coronary circulation and the heart have not been examined in vivo. The present study was therefore planned to determine the primary in vivo effect of IMD1–47 on coronary blood flow and cardiac function and the involvement of the autonomic nervous system and nitric oxide (NO). In 35 anesthetized pigs, IMD1–47, infused into the left anterior descending coronary artery at doses of 87.2 pmol/min, at constant heart rate and arterial blood pressure, augmented coronary blood flow and cardiac function. These responses were graded in a further five pigs by increasing the infused dose of IMD1–47 between 0.81 and 204.1 pmol/min. In the 35 pigs, the blockade of cholinergic receptors (intravenous atropine, 5 pigs), α-adrenoceptors (intravenous phentolamine, 5 pigs), and β1-adrenoceptors (intravenous atenolol, 5 pigs) did not abolish the cardiac response to IMD1–47, the effects of which were prevented by blockade of β2-adrenoceptors (intravenous butoxamine, 5 pigs), NO synthase (intracoronary Nω-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester, 5 pigs), and calcitonin-related receptors (intracoronary CGRP8–37/AM22–52, 10 pigs). In porcine coronary endothelial cells, IMD1–47 induced the phosphorylation of endothelial NO synthase and NO production through cAMP signaling leading to ERK, Akt, and p38 activation, which was prevented by the inhibition of β2-adrenoceptors, calcitonin-related receptor complexes, and K+ channels. In conclusion, IMD1–47 primarily augmented coronary blood flow and cardiac function through the involvement of calcitonin-related receptor complexes and β2-adrenoreceptor-mediated NO release. The intracellular signaling involved cAMP-dependent activation of kinases and the opening of K+ channels.


1997 ◽  
Vol 273 (5) ◽  
pp. G1160-G1167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward N. Janoff ◽  
Hiroshi Hayakawa ◽  
David N. Taylor ◽  
Claudine E. Fasching ◽  
Julie R. Kenner ◽  
...  

Vibrio cholerae induces massive intestinal fluid secretion that continues for the life of the stimulated epithelial cells. Enhanced regional blood flow and peristalsis are required to adapt to this obligatory intestinal secretory challenge. Nitric oxide (NO) is a multifunctional molecule that modulates blood flow and peristalsis and possesses both cytotoxic and antibacterial activity. We demonstrate that, compared with those in asymptomatic control subjects, levels of stable NO metabolites ([Formula: see text]/[Formula: see text]) are significantly increased in sera from acutely ill Peruvian patients with natural cholera infection as well as from symptomatic volunteers from the United States infected experimentally with V. cholerae. In a rabbit ileal loop model in vivo, cholera toxin (CT) elicited fluid secretion and dose-dependent increases in levels of[Formula: see text]/[Formula: see text]in the fluid ( P < 0.01). In contrast, lipopolysaccharide (LPS) elicited no such effects when applied to the intact mucosa. NO synthase (NOS) catalytic activity also increased in toxin-exposed tissues ( P< 0.05), predominantly in epithelial cells. The CT-induced NOS activity was Ca2+dependent and was not suppressed by dexamethasone. In conclusion, symptomatic V. cholerae infection induces NO production in humans. In the related animal model, CT, but not LPS, stimulated significant production of NO in association with increases in local Ca2+-dependent NOS activity in the tissues.


1994 ◽  
Vol 266 (6) ◽  
pp. H2369-H2373 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. G. Mayhan

The goal of this study was to determine the role of nitric oxide in histamine-induced increases in macromolecular extravasation in the hamster cheek pouch in vivo. We used intravital fluorescent microscopy and fluorescein isothiocyanate dextran (FITC-dextran; mol wt = 70,000 K) to examine extravasation from postcapillary venules in response to histamine before and after application of an enzymatic inhibitor of nitric oxide, NG-monomethyl-L-arginine (L-NMMA; 1.0 microM). Increases in extravasation of macromolecules were quantitated counting the number of venular leaky sites. Histamine (1.0 and 5.0 microM) increased the number of venular leaky sites from zero (basal conditions) to 11 +/- 1 and 21 +/- 2/0.11 cm2, respectively. Superfusion of L-NMMA (1.0 microM) and LY-83583 (1.0 microM) significantly decreased histamine-induced formation of venular leaky sites, whereas L-arginine (100 microM) potentiated histamine-induced formation of venular leaky sites. In contrast, superfusion of NG-monomethyl-D-arginine (1.0 microM) did not inhibit the formation of venular leaky sites in response to histamine. Thus the findings of the present study suggest that production of nitric oxide, and subsequent activation of guanylate cyclase, plays an important role in macromolecular efflux in vivo in response to histamine.


2003 ◽  
Vol 94 (3) ◽  
pp. 935-940 ◽  
Author(s):  
John B. Buckwalter ◽  
Valerie C. Curtis ◽  
Zoran Valic ◽  
Stephen B. Ruble ◽  
Philip S. Clifford

To test the hypothesis that nitric oxide (NO) production is essential for endogenous vascular remodeling in ischemic skeletal muscle, 22 New Zealand White rabbits were chronically instrumented with transit-time flow probes on the common iliac arteries and underwent femoral ligation to produce unilateral hindlimb ischemia. Iliac blood flow and arterial pressure were recorded at rest and during a graded exercise test. An osmotic pump connected to a femoral arterial catheter continuously delivered N-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester (a NO synthase inhibitor) or a control solution ( N-nitro-d-arginine methyl ester or phenylephrine) to the ischemic limb over a 2-wk period. At 1, 3, and 6 wk after femoral ligation, maximal treadmill exercise blood flow in the ischemic limb was reduced compared with baseline in each group. However, maximal exercise blood flow was significantly ( P < 0.05) lower in the l-NAME-treated group than in controls for the duration of the study: 48 ± 4 vs. 60 ± 5 ml/min at 6 wk. Consistent with the reduction in maximal blood flow response, the duration of voluntary exercise was also substantially ( P < 0.05) shorter in thel-NAME-treated group: 539 ± 67 vs. 889 ± 87 s. Resting blood flow was unaffected by femoral ligation in either group. The results of this study show that endogenous vascular remodeling, which partially alleviated the initial deficit in blood flow, was interrupted by NO synthase inhibition. Therefore, we conclude that NO is essential for endogenous collateral development and angiogenesis in ischemic skeletal muscle in the rabbit.


2005 ◽  
Vol 288 (1) ◽  
pp. H89-H95 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brett G. Zani ◽  
H. Glenn Bohlen

NaCl hyperosmolarity increases intestinal blood flow during food absorption due in large part to increased NO production. We hypothesized that in vivo, sodium ions enter endothelial cells during NaCl hyperosmolarity as the first step to stimulate an increase in intestinal endothelial NO production. Perivascular NO concentration ([NO]) and blood flow were determined in the in vivo rat intestinal microvasculature at rest and under hyperosmotic conditions, 330 and 380 mosM, respectively, before and after application of bumetanide (Na+-K+-2Cl− cotransporter inhibitor) or amiloride (Na+/H+ exchange channel inhibitor). Suppressing amiloride-sensitive Na+/H+ exchange channels diminished hypertonicity-linked increases in vascular [NO], whereas blockade of Na+-K+-2Cl− channels greatly suppressed increases in vascular [NO] and intestinal blood flow. In additional experiments we examined the effect of sodium ion entry into endothelial cells. We proposed that the Na+/Ca2+ exchanger extrudes Na+ in exchange for Ca2+, thereby leading to the calcium-dependent activation of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS). We blocked the activity of the Na+/Ca2+ exchanger during 360 mosM NaCl hyperosmolarity with KB-R7943; complete blockade of increased vascular [NO] and intestinal blood flow to hyperosmolarity occurred. These results indicate that during NaCl hyperosmolarity, sodium ions enter endothelial cells predominantly through Na+-K+-2Cl− channels. The Na+/Ca2+ exchanger then extrudes Na+ and increases endothelial Ca2+. The increase in endothelial Ca2+ causes an increase in eNOS activity, and the resultant increase in NO increases intestinal arteriolar diameter and blood flow during NaCl hyperosmolarity. This appears to be the major mechanism by which intestinal nutrient absorption is coupled to increased blood flow.


Endocrinology ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 156 (2) ◽  
pp. 707-720 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Craps ◽  
C. Wilvers ◽  
V. Joris ◽  
B. De Jongh ◽  
J. Vanderstraeten ◽  
...  

Iodine deficiency (ID) induces microvascular changes in the thyroid gland via a TSH-independent reactive oxygen species-hypoxia inducible factor (HIF)-1α-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) pathway. The involvement of nitric oxide (NO) in this pathway and the role of calcium (Ca2+) and of ryanodine receptors (RYRs) in NO synthase 3 (NOS3) activation were investigated in a murine model of goitrogenesis and in 3 in vitro models of ID, including primary cultures of human thyrocytes. ID activated NOS3 and the production of NO in thyrocytes in vitro and increased the thyroid blood flow in vivo. Using bevacizumab (a blocking antibody against VEGF-A) in mice, it appeared that NOS3 is activated upstream of VEGF-A. L-nitroarginine methyl ester (a NOS inhibitor) blocked the ID-induced increase in thyroid blood flow in vivo and NO production in vitro, as well as ID-induced VEGF-A mRNA and HIF-1α expression in vitro, whereas S-nitroso-acetyl-penicillamine (a NO donor) did the opposite. Ca2+ is involved in this pathway as intracellular Ca2+ flux increased after ID, and thapsigargin activated NOS3 and increased VEGF-A mRNA expression. Two of the 3 known mammalian RYR isoforms (RYR1 and RYR2) were shown to be expressed in thyrocytes. RYR inhibition using ryanodine at 10μM decreased ID-induced NOS3 activation, HIF-1α, and VEGF-A expression, whereas RYR activation with ryanodine at 1nM increased NOS3 activation and VEGF-A mRNA expression. In conclusion, during the early phase of TSH-independent ID-induced microvascular activation, ID sequentially activates RYRs and NOS3, thereby supporting ID-induced activation of the NO/HIF-1α/VEGF-A pathway in thyrocytes.


1996 ◽  
Vol 84 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Gregory Thompson ◽  
Ryszard M. Pluta ◽  
Mary E. Girton ◽  
Edward H. Oldfield

✓ The authors sought to develop a model for assessing in vivo regulation of cerebral vasoregulation by nitric oxide (NO), originally described as endothelial-derived relaxing factor, and to use this model to establish the role of NO in the regulation of cerebral blood flow (CBF) in primates. By using regional intraarterial perfusion, the function of NO in cerebral vasoregulation was examined without producing confounding systemic physiological effects. Issues examined were: whether resting vasomotor tone requires NO; whether NO mediates vasodilation during chemoregulation and autoregulation of CBF; and whether there is a relationship between the degree of hypercapnia and hypotension and NO production. Twelve anesthetized (0.5% isoflurane) cynomolgus monkeys were monitored continuously for cortical CBF, PaCO2, and mean arterial pressure (MAP), which were systematically altered to provide control and experimental curves of chemoregulation (CBF vs. PaCO2) and autoregulation (CBF vs. MAP) during continuous intracarotid infusion of 1) saline and 2) an NO synthase inhibitor (NOSI), either l-n-monomethyl arginine or nitro l-arginine. During basal conditions (PaCO2 of 38–42 mm Hg) NOSI infusion of internal carotid artery (ICA) reduced cortical CBF from 62 (saline) to 53 ml/100 g/per minute (p < 0.01), although there was no effect on MAP. Increased CBF in response to hypercapnia was completely blocked by ICA NOSI. The difference in regional (r)CBF between ICA saline and NOSI infusion increased linearly with PaCO2 when PaCO2 was greater than 40 mm Hg, indicating a graded relationship of NO production, increasing PaCO2, and increasing CBF. Diminution of CBF with NOSI infusion was reversed by simultaneous ICA infusion of l-arginine, indicating a direct role of NO synthesis in the chemoregulation of CBF. Hypotension and hypertension were induced with trimethaphan camsylate (Arfonad) and phenylephrine at constant PaCO2 (40 ± 1 mm Hg). Autoregulation in response to changes in MAP from 50 to 140 mm Hg was unaffected by ICA infusion of NOSI. In primates, cerebral vascular tone is modulated in vivo by NO; continuous release of NO is necessary to maintain homeostatic cerebral vasodilation; vasodilation during chemoregulation of CBF is mediated directly by NO production; autoregulatory vasodilation with hypotension is not mediated by NO; and increasing PaCO2 induces increased NO production.


2007 ◽  
Vol 293 (2) ◽  
pp. H1072-H1082 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharyn M. Fitzgerald ◽  
Homaira Bashari ◽  
Jessica A. Cox ◽  
Helena C. Parkington ◽  
Roger G. Evans

We determined the contributions of various endothelium-derived relaxing factors to control of basal vascular tone and endothelium-dependent vasodilation in the mouse hindlimb in vivo. Under anesthesia, catheters were placed in a carotid artery, jugular vein, and femoral artery (for local hindlimb circulation injections). Hindlimb blood flow (HBF) was measured by transit-time ultrasound flowmetry. Nω-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester (l-NAME, 50 mg/kg plus 10 mg·kg−1·h−1), to block nitric oxide (NO) production, altered basal hemodynamics, increasing mean arterial pressure (30 ± 3%) and reducing HBF (−30 ± 12%). Basal hemodynamics were not significantly altered by indomethacin (10 mg·kg−1·h−1), charybdotoxin (ChTx, 3 × 10−8 mol/l), apamin (2.5 × 10−7 mol/l), or ChTx plus apamin (to block endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor; EDHF). Hyperemic responses to local injection of acetylcholine (2.4 μg/kg) were reproducible in vehicle-treated mice and were not significantly attenuated by l-NAME alone, indomethacin alone, l-NAME plus indomethacin with or without co-infusion of diethlyamine NONOate to restore resting NO levels, ChTx alone, or apamin alone. Hyperemic responses evoked by acetylcholine were reduced by 29 ± 11% after combined treatment with apamin plus charybdotoxin, and the remainder was virtually abolished by additional treatment with l-NAME but not indomethacin. None of the treatments altered the hyperemic response to sodium nitroprusside (5 μg/kg). We conclude that endothelium-dependent vasodilation in the mouse hindlimb in vivo is mediated by both NO and EDHF. EDHF can fully compensate for the loss of NO, but this cannot be explained by tonic inhibition of EDHF by NO. Control of basal vasodilator tone in the mouse hindlimb is dominated by NO.


Circulation ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 116 (suppl_16) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mike Seddon ◽  
Phil Chowienczyk ◽  
Barbara Casadei ◽  
Ajay Shah

Nitric oxide (NO) has an established role in the maintenance of vascular tone, generally assumed to be mediated by endothelial NO synthase (eNOS). Previous studies using the non-selective NOS inhibitor N G monomethyl-L-arginine (L-NMMA) in humans confirmed the in vivo importance of NO but the contribution of neuronal NO synthase (nNOS) is unknown due to the lack of available selective NOS inhibitors for human use. In this study, we investigated for the first time in humans the effects of S-methyl-L-thiocitrulline (SMTC), a competitive nNOS-selective inhibitor with 17-fold selectivity over eNOS. SMTC or L-NMMA were infused into the brachial artery of healthy male volunteers and forearm blood flow was measured by venous occlusion plethysmography. SMTC 0.025, 0.05, 0.1 and 0.2 μmol/min caused a dose-dependent reduction in basal blood flow in the infused arm of 9.2±1.9, 16.2±2.9, 22.9±3.9 and 30.1±3.8% respectively (n=10; mean±SE; all P<0.01). Substantially higher doses of L-NMMA of 0.5, 1, 2 and 4 μmol/min were required to reduce basal flow by 11.5±3.0, 25.1±3.0, 33.7±3.0 and 37.4±3.1% respectively (n=10). The highest dose of SMTC (ie, 0.2 μmol/min) tested had no significant effect on the vasodilator response to acetylcholine (ACh): Ach 40 and 80nmol/min increased blood flow by 3.93±0.64 and 5.54±0.69 ml/min/100mls tissue above baseline during saline co-infusion versus 3.95±0.69 and 4.90±0.71 ml/min/100mls tissue during SMTC co-infusion (n=10; P=NS). In contrast, L-NMMA significantly reduced the response to these doses of ACh by 64±9.9 and 60±10% (n=10; both P<0.01). The effect of SMTC on basal blood flow was completely abolished in the presence of the NOS substrate L-arginine (n=6; P<0.001) but was unaffected by the stereoisomer D-arginine (n=6). SMTC had no effect on the vasodilator response to sodium nitroprusside (n=5). In conclusion , SMTC reduced basal blood flow by stereospecific inhibition of the L-arginine:NO pathway but did not affect the eNOS-mediated vasodilator response to ACh. These results indicate that nNOS has a crucial role in the regulation of basal vascular tone in the human forearm in vivo .


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