Pulmonary vascular reactivity is blunted in pregnant rats

1982 ◽  
Vol 53 (3) ◽  
pp. 703-707 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. I. Fuchs ◽  
L. G. Moore ◽  
S. Rounds

Pulmonary arterial pressure is decreased in pregnant women despite increased cardiac output, suggesting that pulmonary vascular resistance is decreased in pregnancy. To determine if pulmonary vascular reactivity is decreased in pregnant rats, lungs isolated from pregnant rats were perfused with blood from other pregnant rats at constant flow rate, and pressor responses to airway hypoxia and to angiotensin II were measured. Compared with responses obtained in lungs from nonpregnant female rats, hypoxic and angiotensin II pressor responses were blunted in pregnancy. To separate possible effects of pregnancy on the lung from those of substance(s) circulating in the blood in pregnancy, we perfused lungs from nonpregnant rats with blood from pregnant rats. Both the hypoxic and angiotensin II pressor responses were blunted by blood from pregnant rats. The angiotensin II pressor response was blunted also in lungs from pregnant rats perfused with blood from nonpregnant rats. These results suggest that a circulating substance is responsible for blunting of pulmonary vascular reactivity in pregnancy and that changes in the lung induced by pregnancy also depress angiotensin II responses. It is unlikely that estrogen and progesterone were responsible for these effects, since lungs and blood obtained from animals treated with these hormones did not have blunted pulmonary vascular reactivity.

1992 ◽  
Vol 73 (4) ◽  
pp. 1474-1480 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. M. Tseng ◽  
S. Qian ◽  
W. Mitzner

Changes in pulmonary hemodynamics and vascular reactivity in emphysematous hamsters were studied in an isolated lung preparation perfused at constant flow with blood and 3% dextran. Hamsters were treated with intratracheal porcine pancreatic elastase at 70 days of age, and experimental studies were conducted at 1, 3, and 8 mo after treatment. Baseline pulmonary arterial pressure in elastase-treated lungs was increased compared with saline-treated control lungs 1 mo after treatment, but this increase did not progress at 3 and 8 mo. Increases in pulmonary arterial pressure in elastase-treated lungs were temporally correlated with the morphological development of emphysema and right ventricular hypertrophy; both of these were evident at 1 mo after treatment and showed little change thereafter. Pressor responses to hypoxia and angiotensin II were not different between elastase-treated and control lungs at 1 and 3 mo. At 8 mo, however, pressor responses in emphysematous lungs to 0% O2 (but not to angiotensin II) were significantly increased. This was the result of a lack of the normal age-related fall in the hypoxic pressor response. Our results suggest that the right ventricular hypertrophy found in these emphysematous animals results from a chronically increased pulmonary vascular resistance. Furthermore, increases in pulmonary vascular resistance in the early development of emphysema are likely a result of the loss of vascular beds and supporting connective tissue.


1989 ◽  
Vol 257 (6) ◽  
pp. R1457-R1461 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Hines ◽  
J. P. Porter

It is known that the pressor response to intravenous angiotensin II (ANG II) is blunted in pregnancy. In the present study we examined the pressor response to intracerebroventricular ANG II to determine whether central ANG II effects are also attenuated in conscious pregnant rats. Two to three days before experimentation, animals were instrumented with arterial and venous catheters and a ventricular guide cannula. Pressor responses to 10, 50, and 100 ng iv of ANG II, and 30, 100, and 300 ng iv of norepinephrine were significantly reduced in pregnant animals. The pressor response to 5, 20, and 50 ng iv of vasopressin was not attenuated in pregnant rats. The pressor response to intracerebroventricular 100 ng ANG II was significantly increased in pregnancy. Blockade of the vasopressin V1 receptor and the sympathetic ganglia indicated that the greater pressor response to intracerebroventricular ANG II in pregnancy may be the result of a larger contribution by the sympathetic nervous system. We conclude that the central effects of ANG II are augmented in pregnancy, suggesting a significant role for central ANG II in blood pressure regulation.


1985 ◽  
Vol 249 (1) ◽  
pp. E49-E55 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. P. Naden ◽  
S. Coultrup ◽  
B. S. Arant ◽  
C. R. Rosenfeld

Reduced vascular responsiveness to infused angiotensin II (ANG II) has been observed during pregnancy. It has been proposed that infusions produce lower circulating concentrations of ANG II in pregnancy, due to an increase in the metabolic clearance rate of ANG II (MCRangii). We have evaluated the MCRangii and the arterial plasma concentrations of ANG II during constant infusions of 1.15 micrograms ANG II/min into chronically instrumented pregnant (n = 6) and nonpregnant (n = 9) sheep. Although the pressor responses were significantly less in the pregnant than in the nonpregnant sheep (17.5 +/- 0.5 vs. 34.9 +/- 3.2 mmHg, P less than 0.001), the values for MCRangii were not different: 56.2 +/- 6.3 ml X min-1 X kg-1 in nonpregnant and 55.9 +/- 4.3 ml X min-1 X kg-1 in pregnant sheep. The steady-state plasma ANG II concentrations during the infusions were slightly less in pregnant than in nonpregnant sheep (388 +/- 36 vs. 454 +/- 36 pg/ml); however, this difference would be responsible for only a 2-mmHg reduction in the pressor response. We conclude that the reduced pressor response to infused ANG II in pregnancy is not due to an increase in MCRangii nor to lower plasma ANG II concentrations.


1984 ◽  
Vol 247 (1) ◽  
pp. H100-H108 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. S. Paller

The mechanism of decreased pressor responsiveness to pressor agents was examined serially throughout pregnancy in conscious rats. Rats, 15 and 20 days pregnant, showed marked blunting of the pressor response to graded doses of angiotensin, whereas after only 5 days of pregnancy there was a normal response and at 10 days an intermediate pressor response. A role for prior occupancy of vascular angiotensin II receptors for the blunted pressor response was made less likely by the observation that treatment with captopril to decrease endogenous angiotensin II did not improve the angiotensin II pressor response in 15-day pregnant rats. Studies of smooth muscle receptor binding of angiotensin II showed that, in pregnancy, receptor affinity and number was not changed. Inhibition of prostaglandin synthesis with meclofenamate increased the pressor response to angiotensin II toward normal in pregnant animals. The blunted vascular response in pregnancy was not specific for angiotensin since pregnant animals showed a similar decrease in the response to both norepinephrine and arginine vasopressin. Furthermore, meclofenamate increased the pressor response to norepinephrine and vasopressin in pregnant rats. We conclude that pressor hyporesponsiveness in pregnancy is not specific for angiotensin II and is not caused by alterations in vascular receptor occupancy or binding. In pregnancy there is a decreased pressor response to all three major pressor agents that is improved by inhibition of prostaglandin production.


1993 ◽  
Vol 265 (6) ◽  
pp. R1270-R1275
Author(s):  
T. Hines ◽  
M. D. Lindheimer ◽  
W. M. Barron

Pressor responses to angiotensin II (ANG II) are markedly attenuated in reflex-intact pregnant animals, a phenomenon widely attributed to intrinsic changes in vascular reactivity. To test the hypothesis that gestational augmentation of neural reflex activity contributes importantly to this phenomenon, changes in mean arterial pressure (MAP), cardiac output (CO), and total peripheral resistance (TPR) were compared during constant infusion (25-400 ng.kg-1.min-1) of ANG II in conscious virgin and pregnant rats, using a model of total autonomic blockade (chlorisondamine chloride and methscopolamine bromide), with restoration of baseline hemodynamics by infusion of norepinephrine. Basal CO was higher and TPR lower in pregnant (CO 121.8 +/- 3.8 ml/min; TPR 0.78 +/- 0.04 mmHg.ml-1.min) compared with virgin (CO 95.9 +/- 3.9 ml/min; TPR 1.05 +/- 0.08 mmHg.ml-1.min) rats (P < 0.005). Pressor responses to ANG II were similar in both groups of reflex-blocked animals due to comparable changes in TPR and CO (not significant by repeated-measures analysis of variance). Other experiments demonstrated that changes in MAP after bolus administration of ANG II did not differ in areflexic virgin and gravid rats. Thus in the absence of autonomic control ANG II has similar effects on systemic resistance in pregnant and nonpregnant rats, suggesting that reflex neural mechanisms contribute significantly to gestational changes in pressor responsiveness. These data further suggest that pregnancy is not accompanied by a generalized decrease in vascular reactivity to all pressor agents.


1988 ◽  
Vol 255 (5) ◽  
pp. H1096-H1105
Author(s):  
W. F. Hofman ◽  
I. C. Ehrhart

We examined the effects of serotonin (5-HT) infusion on hemodynamics, vascular compliance (Cvasc), and the filtration coefficient (Kf) in the isolated canine lower left lung lobe (LLL) perfused at constant flow. In one group (5-HT; n = 8), 5-HT was infused at 55 micrograms/min for 35 min and then at 105 micrograms/min for 15 min before and during a Kf determination. Cyclooxygenase inhibition (COI) was induced by 40 microM indomethacin (n = 4) or 45 microM meclofenamate (n = 4) before 5-HT infusion in a second group (5-HTCOI; n = 8). Control LLLs (n = 8) were given equivalent volumes of saline. The pulmonary arterial pressure (Pa) increase to 55 micrograms/min 5-HT (3.0 +/- 0.6 Torr; 43.7%) was nearly doubled (P less than 0.01) with COI (10.5 +/- 1.5 Torr; 83.3%), while LLL weight decreased 6.2 g/100 g in both groups. With 5-HT infusion, the dose-dependent increase in Pa, lobar vascular resistance, and precapillary resistance was greater (P less than 0.05) in the 5-HTCOI than the 5-HT group, but capillary pressure (Pc) was not increased from base-line values. Kf values did not differ (P greater than 0.05) among groups but Cvasc was reduced (P less than 0.05) in the 5-HTCOI group. We found that 5-HT increases Pa, but does not appear to promote microvessel fluid filtration by increasing Pc or the Kf. The enhanced and sustained pressor response to 5-HT with COI suggests that vasodilatory prostaglandins may modulate pressor responses to 5-HT.


1993 ◽  
Vol 74 (4) ◽  
pp. 1905-1910 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Stevens ◽  
K. Morris ◽  
I. F. McMurtry ◽  
M. Zamora ◽  
A. Tucker

Endotoxin decreases pulmonary vascular reactivity. Because tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) is a primary mediator of endotoxemia, we tested whether TNF-alpha altered pulmonary vascular reactivity in conscious adult female rats. Osmotic pumps were implanted intraperitoneally, and low-dose TNF-alpha (62 micrograms, TNF62; n = 7), high-dose TNF-alpha (> or = 250 micrograms, TNF250; n = 5), or saline (n = 5) was administered for 2 wk. Pulmonary pressor responses to 14% O2 and angiotensin II (ANG II, 0.0206 micrograms/min for 10 min) were measured without (day 13) or after (day 14) administration of nitro-L-arginine (4.4 mg/kg iv), an inhibitor of endothelium-derived relaxing factor (EDRF). TNF-alpha administration slightly decreased (P < or = 0.08) baseline pulmonary arterial pressure in TNF250 rats and decreased (P < or = 0.05) hypoxia- and ANG II-induced constrictions in TNF62 and TNF250 rats. Whereas nitro-L-arginine potentiated (P < or = 0.05) pressure responses in control rats, it had no effect on hypoxic responses in TNF-alpha-treated rats. Nitro-L-arginine increased (P < or = 0.05) ANG II-induced vasoconstriction in TNF-alpha-treated rats, but the pulmonary arterial pressure response was still lower (P < or = 0.05) in TNF250 than in control and TNF62 rats. These results suggest that chronic TNF-alpha decreases 1) pulmonary vascular reactivity in the intact rat, 2) hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction by a mechanism that is independent of EDRF, and 3) ANG II-induced constriction by a mechanism that is partly EDRF dependent.


1975 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 495-498 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. H. Will ◽  
J. L. Hicks ◽  
C. S. Card ◽  
J. T. Reeves ◽  
A. F. Alexander

We investigated acute and chronic hypoxic pulmonary pressor responses in two groups of calves, one bred to be susceptible, the other resistant to high-altitude pulmonary hypertension. Twelve 5-mo-old susceptible calves residing at 1,524 m increased their mean pulmonary arterial pressure from 26 +/- 2 (SE) to 55 +/- 4 mmHg during 2 h at a simulated altitude of 4,572 m. In 10 resistant calves pressure increased from 22 +/- 1 to 37 +/- 2 mmHg. Five calves were selected from each group for further study. When 9 mo old, the 5 susceptible calves again showed a greater pressor response to acute hypoxia (27 +/- 1 to 55 +/- 4 mmHg) than did 5 resistant calves (23 +/- 1 to 41 +/- 3 mmHg). When 12 mo old, the 5 susceptible calves also developed a greater increase in pulmonary arterial pressure (21 +/- 2 to 9 +/- 4 mmHg) during 18 days at 4,572 m than did the 5 resistant calves (21 +/- 1 to 64 +/- 4 mmHg). Acute and chronic hypoxic pulmonary pressor responses were highly correlated (r = 0.91; P less than 0.001) indicating that they were probably produced through a common mechanism.


1989 ◽  
Vol 257 (4) ◽  
pp. R866-R871 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. S. Paller ◽  
G. Gregorini ◽  
T. F. Ferris

During pregnancy the pressor response to vasoconstrictor substances such as angiotensin II (ANG II) is diminished, and renal, uterine, and vascular prostaglandin (PG) production may increase. However, little is known about the factors that alter vascular reactivity or stimulate PG synthesis during pregnancy. To ascertain whether these factors are of maternal or fetal-placental origin, we studied vascular reactivity and urinary PGE excretion in pseudopregnant rats. Pseudopregnant rats had plasma progesterone and weight gain similar to that observed in pregnant rats. Urinary PG excretion in nonpregnant rats was approximately 70 ng/24 h and remained constant during a 12-day observation. In contrast, urinary PG excretion in both pregnant and in pseudopregnant rats rose to levels approximately twice control within 4-6 days. The pressor response to ANG II was diminished in pseudopregnant rats compared with nonpregnant rats. When the PG synthesis inhibitor meclofenamate was given there was no change in the pressor response to ANG II in nonpregnant animals, but in pseudopregnant animals meclofenamate produced a significant increase in the pressor response to ANG II. The pressor response to norepinephrine and arginine vasopressin (AVP) was not diminished in pseudopregnant animals, and meclofenamate did not increase the pressor response to these agents. Therefore, a developing fetus and placenta is not necessary for the decrease in pressor response to ANG II nor for the early increase in urinary PGE excretion. Like in pregnancy, the pressor response to ANG II was increased after meclofenamate in pseudopregnancy. Increased PG production may, therefore, be partly responsible for the decrease in pressor responsiveness to ANG II. However, pseudopregnancy, unlike pregnancy, did not affect pressor responsiveness to norepinephrine or AVP. Both maternal and fetal-placental factors seem required for the reduction in responsiveness to norepinephrine and AVP in pregnancy.


1991 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 217-222 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. F. Hofman ◽  
W. F. Jackson ◽  
H. el-Kashef ◽  
I. C. Ehrhart

Experiments were conducted to compare the effects of cyclooxygenase inhibition (COI) on vascular reactivity to serotonin (5-HT) in the isolated blood-perfused canine left lower lung lobe (LLL) and in isolated canine intrapulmonary lobar artery rings with and without a functional endothelium. LLLs (n = 6), perfused at constant blood flow, were challenged with bolus doses of 50, 100, and 250 micrograms 5-HT before COI, after COI with 45 microM meclofenamate, and after infusion of prostacyclin (PGI2) during COI. Lobar vascular resistance was segmentally partitioned by venous occlusion. Pulmonary arterial pressure increased from 13.5 +/- 1.0 to 16.3 +/- 0.8 cmH2O (P less than 0.01) after COI but declined to 13.1 +/- 1.1 cmH2O (P less than 0.01) subsequent to PGI2 infusion (91.3 +/- 14.5 ng.min-1.g LLL-1). The pulmonary arterial pressure changes were related to changes in postcapillary resistance. The dose-dependent pressor response to 5-HT was potentiated by COI (P less than 0.01) but reversibly attenuated (P less than 0.05) by PGI2 infusion. Isolated intrapulmonary artery rings (2–4 mm diam) exhibited a dose-related increase in contractile tension to 5-HT. The response to 5-HT was enhanced (P less than 0.05) in rings devoid of a functional endothelium. However, COI (10 microM indomethacin) did not alter (P greater than 0.05) the dose-related increase in contractile tension to 5-HT in rings with an intact endothelium. Our results suggest that both PGI2 and endothelium-derived relaxing factors modulate pulmonary vascular reactivity to 5-HT.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


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