scholarly journals Role of endothelial nitric oxide synthase for early brain injury after subarachnoid hemorrhage in mice

2020 ◽  
pp. 0271678X2097378
Author(s):  
Irina J Lenz ◽  
Nikolaus Plesnila ◽  
Nicole A Terpolilli
Keyword(s):  
Nitric Oxide ◽  
Subarachnoid Hemorrhage ◽  
Early Brain Injury ◽  
Unfavorable Outcome ◽  
Proper Function ◽  
Microcirculatory Dysfunction ◽  
Pial Arterioles ◽  
Oxide Synthase ◽  
Endothelial Nitric Oxide

The first few hours and days after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) are characterized by cerebral ischemia, spasms of pial arterioles, and a significant reduction of cerebral microperfusion, however, the mechanisms of this early microcirculatory dysfunction are still unknown. Endothelial nitric oxide production is reduced after SAH and exogenous application of NO reduces post-hemorrhagic microvasospasm. Therefore, we hypothesize that the endothelial NO-synthase (eNOS) may be involved in the formation of microvasospasms, microcirculatory dysfunction, and unfavorable outcome after SAH. SAH was induced in male eNOS deficient (eNOS–/–) mice by endovascular MCA perforation. Three hours later, the cerebral microcirculation was visualized using in vivo 2-photon-microscopy. eNOS–/– mice had more severe SAHs, more severe ischemia, three time more rebleedings, and a massively increased mortality (50 vs. 0%) as compared to wild type (WT) littermate controls. Three hours after SAH eNOS–/– mice had fewer perfused microvessels and 40% more microvasospasms than WT mice. The current study indicates that a proper function of eNOS plays a key role for a favorable outcome after SAH and helps to explain why patients suffering from hypertension or other conditions associated with impaired eNOS function, have a higher risk of unfavorable outcome after SAH.

scholarly journals Carbon monoxide as an endogenous vascular modulator

2011 ◽  
Vol 301 (1) ◽  
pp. H1-H11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles W. Leffler ◽  
Helena Parfenova ◽  
Jonathan H. Jaggar
Keyword(s):  
Nitric Oxide ◽  
Carbon Monoxide ◽  
Smooth Muscle ◽  
Prolonged Exposure ◽  
Circulatory System ◽  
Pial Arterioles ◽  
Cerebral Arterioles ◽  
Oxide Synthase ◽  
Endothelial Nitric Oxide

Carbon monoxide (CO) is produced by heme oxygenase (HO)-catalyzed heme degradation to CO, iron, and biliverdin. HO has two active isoforms, HO-1 (inducible) and HO-2 (constitutive). HO-2, but not HO-1, is highly expressed in endothelial and smooth muscle cells and in adjacent astrocytes in the brain. HO-1 is expressed basally only in the spleen and liver but can be induced to a varying extent in most tissues. Elevating heme, protein phosphorylation, Ca2+ influx, and Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent processes increase HO-2 activity. CO dilates cerebral arterioles and may constrict or dilate skeletal muscle and renal arterioles. Selected vasodilatory stimuli, including seizures, glutamatergic stimulation, hypoxia, hypotension, and ADP, increase CO, and the inhibition of HO attenuates the dilation to these stimuli. Astrocytic HO-2-derived CO causes glutamatergic dilation of pial arterioles. CO dilates by activating smooth muscle cell large-conductance Ca2+-activated K+ (BKCa) channels. CO binds to BKCa channel-bound heme, leading to an increase in Ca2+ sparks-to-BKCa channel coupling. Also, CO may bind directly to the BKCa channel at several locations. Endothelial nitric oxide and prostacyclin interact with HO/CO in circulatory regulation. In cerebral arterioles in vivo, in contrast to dilation to acute CO, a prolonged exposure of cerebral arterioles to elevated CO produces progressive constriction by inhibiting nitric oxide synthase. The HO/CO system is highly protective to the vasculature. CO suppresses apoptosis and inhibits components of endogenous oxidant-generating pathways. Bilirubin is a potent reactive oxygen species scavenger. Still many questions remain about the physiology and biochemistry of HO/CO in the circulatory system and about the function and dysfunction of this gaseous mediator system.

Increasing dihydrobiopterin causes dysfunction of endothelial nitric oxide synthase in rats in vivo

2011 ◽  
Vol 301 (3) ◽  
pp. H721-H729 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katsuhiko Noguchi ◽  
Naobumi Hamadate ◽  
Toshihiro Matsuzaki ◽  
Mayuko Sakanashi ◽  
Junko Nakasone ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nitric Oxide ◽  
Nitric Oxide Synthase ◽  
Endothelial Nitric Oxide Synthase ◽  
Control Treatment ◽  
Enos Uncoupling ◽  
Nos Inhibitor ◽  
Oxide Synthase ◽  
Endothelial Nitric Oxide ◽  
First Time

An elevation of oxidized forms of tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4), especially dihydrobiopterin (BH2), has been reported in the setting of oxidative stress, such as arteriosclerotic/atherosclerotic disorders, where endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) is dysfunctional, but the role of BH2 in the regulation of eNOS activity in vivo remains to be evaluated. This study was designed to clarify whether increasing BH2 concentration causes endothelial dysfunction in rats. To increase vascular BH2 levels, the BH2 precursor sepiapterin (SEP) was intravenously given after the administration of the specific dihydrofolate reductase inhibitor methotrexate (MTX) to block intracellular conversion of BH2 to BH4. MTX/SEP treatment did not significantly affect aortic BH4 levels compared with control treatment. However, MTX/SEP treatment markedly augmented aortic BH2 levels (291.1 ± 29.2 vs. 33.4 ± 6.4 pmol/g, P < 0.01) in association with moderate hypertension. Treatment with MTX alone did not significantly alter blood pressure or BH4 levels but decreased the BH4-to-BH2 ratio. Treatment with MTX/SEP, but not with MTX alone, impaired ACh-induced vasodilator and depressor responses compared with the control treatment (both P < 0.05) and also aggravated ACh-induced endothelium-dependent relaxations ( P < 0.05) of isolated aortas without affecting sodium nitroprusside-induced endothelium-independent relaxations. Importantly, MTX/SEP treatment significantly enhanced aortic superoxide production, which was diminished by NOS inhibitor treatment, and the impaired ACh-induced relaxations were reversed with SOD ( P < 0.05), suggesting the involvement of eNOS uncoupling. These results indicate, for the first time, that increasing BH2 causes eNOS dysfunction in vivo even in the absence of BH4 deficiency, demonstrating a novel insight into the regulation of endothelial function.

scholarly journals The Key Role of Caveolin-1 in Estrogen-Mediated Regulation of Endothelial Nitric Oxide Synthase Function in Cerebral Arterioles In vivo

2001 ◽  
Vol 21 (8) ◽  
pp. 907-913 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hao-Liang Xu ◽  
Elena Galea ◽  
Roberto A. Santizo ◽  
Verna L. Baughman ◽  
Dale A. Pelligrino
Keyword(s):  
Nitric Oxide ◽  
Nitric Oxide Synthase ◽  
Functional Activity ◽  
Endothelial Nitric Oxide Synthase ◽  
Down Regulation ◽  
Caveolin 1 ◽  
Cerebral Arterioles ◽  
Oxide Synthase ◽  
Endothelial Nitric Oxide

The marked impairment in cerebrovascular endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) function that develops after ovariectomy may relate to the observation that the abundance of cerebral vascular eNOS and its endogenous inhibitor, caveolin-1, vary in opposite directions with chronic changes in estrogen status. The authors endeavored, therefore, to establish a link between these correlative findings by independently manipulating, in ovariectomized female rats, eNOS and caveolin-1 expression, while monitoring agonist (acetylcholine)-stimulated eNOS functional activity. In the current study, the authors showed that individually neither the up-regulation of eNOS (through simvastatin treatment), nor the down-regulation of caveolin-1 (through antisense oligonucleotide administration) is capable of restoring eNOS function in pial arterioles in vivo in these estrogen-depleted rats. Only when eNOS up-regulation and caveolin-1 down-regulation are combined is activity normalized. These results establish a mechanistic link between the estrogen-associated divergent changes in the abundance of caveolin-1 and eNOS protein and eNOS functional activity in cerebral arterioles.

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