Heparin suppresses endothelin-1 action and production in spontaneously hypertensive rats

Previous studies have shown that chronic subcutaneous administration of heparin significantly reduces blood pressure in hypertensive rats. The intracellular mechanisms of how heparin prevents smooth muscle cell proliferation remain unclear. This study was designed to examine whether heparin affects endothelin-1 action and production, to further elucidate the mechanism of the antihypertensive effect of heparin. Four-week treatment with heparin (300 U/day sc) significantly decreased blood pressure in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR; 199 +/- 8 vs. 164 +/- 9 mmHg; P < 0.001) and completely blunted pressor response to endothelin-1 in SHR. Heparin treatment did not decrease blood pressure response nor did it attenuate blood pressure responses to endothelin-1 in Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKY). Heparin significantly suppressed endothelin-1-induced increase in intracellular calcium concentration and inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate level in cultured vascular smooth muscle cells in a dose-dependent manner and endothelin-1 release from cultured endothelial cells. These inhibitions were significantly more pronounced in SHR than in WKY. In conclusion, our findings indicate that the antihypertensive effect of heparin is mediated, at least in part, by the inhibition of endothelin-1 action on vascular smooth muscle cells and endothelin-1 production from endothelial cells.