scholarly journals Nitric Oxide–cGMP Pathway Modulation in an Experimental Model of Hypoxic Pulmonary Hypertension

Author(s):  
Melanie Reinero ◽  
Maurice Beghetti ◽  
Piergiorgio Tozzi ◽  
Ludwig K von Segesser ◽  
Michele Samaja ◽  
...  

Manipulation of nitric oxide (NO) may enable control of progression and treatment of pulmonary hypertension (PH). Several approaches may modulate the NO-cGMP pathway in vivo. Here, we investigate the effectiveness of 3 modulatory sites: (i) the amount of l-arginine; (ii) the size of plasma NO stores that stimulate soluble guanylate cyclase; (iii) the conversion of cGMP into inactive 5′-GMP, with respect to hypoxia, to test the effectiveness of the treatments with respect to hypoxia-induced PH. Male rats (n = 80; 10/group) maintained in normoxic (21% O2) or hypoxic chambers (10% O2) for 14 days were subdivided in 4 sub-groups: placebo, l-arginine (20 mg/ml), the NO donor molsidomine (15 mg/kg in drinking water), and phoshodiesterase-5 inhibitor sildenafil (1.4 mg/kg in 0.3 ml saline, i.p.). Hypoxia depressed homeostasis and increased erythropoiesis, heart and right ventricle hypertrophy, myocardial fibrosis and apoptosis inducing pulmonary remodeling. Stimulating anyone of the 3 mechanisms that enhance the NO-cGMP pathway helped rescuing the functional and morphological changes in the cardiopulmonary system leading to improvement, sometimes normalization, of the pressures. None of the treatments affected the observed parameters in normoxia. Thus, the 3 modulatory sites are essentially similar in enhancing the NO-cGMP pathway, thereby attenuating the hypoxia-related effects that lead to pulmonary hypertension.

2003 ◽  
Vol 284 (5) ◽  
pp. C1140-C1148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Weller ◽  
Ann Schwentker ◽  
Timothy R. Billiar ◽  
Yoram Vodovotz

Nitric oxide (NO) can either prevent or promote apoptosis, depending on cell type. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that NO suppresses ultraviolet B radiation (UVB)-induced keratinocyte apoptosis both in vitro and in vivo. Irradiation with UVB or addition of the NO synthase (NOS) inhibitor N G-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester (l-NAME) increased apoptosis in the human keratinocyte cell line CCD 1106 KERTr, and apoptosis was greater when the two agents were given in combination. Addition of the chemical NO donor S-nitroso- N-acetyl-penicillamine (SNAP) immediately after UVB completely abrogated the rise in apoptosis induced by l-NAME. An adenoviral vector expressing human inducible NOS (AdiNOS) also reduced keratinocyte death after UVB. Caspase-3 activity, an indicator of apoptosis, doubled in keratinocytes incubated with l-NAME compared with the inactive isomer, d-NAME, and was reduced by SNAP. Apoptosis was also increased on addition of 1,H-[1,2,4]oxadiazolo[4,3- a]quinoxalin-1-one (ODQ), an inhibitor of soluble guanylate cyclase. Mice null for endothelial NOS (eNOS) exhibited significantly higher apoptosis than wild-type mice both in the dermis and epidermis, whereas mice null for inducible NOS (iNOS) exhibited more apoptosis than wild-type mice only in the dermis. These results demonstrate an antiapoptotic role for NO in keratinocytes, mediated by cGMP, and indicate an antiapoptotic role for both eNOS and iNOS in skin damage induced by UVB.


Blood ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 106 (11) ◽  
pp. 208-208
Author(s):  
Lewis L. Hsu ◽  
Hunter C. Champion ◽  
Elizabeth Manci ◽  
Bhalchandra Diwan ◽  
Daniel Schimel ◽  
...  

Abstract Pulmonary hypertension is increasingly recognized in sickle cell disease (SCD) as a strong risk factor for early mortality. The finding of pulmonary hypertension in other hemolytic anemias suggests that the mechanism is linked to hemolysis and/or thrombosis. Pathophysiologic roles of nitric oxide (NO) consumption and recurrent lung injury have been considered. Transgenic mice expressing exclusively human sickle hemoglobin (sickle mice)(Pastzy 1997) are well established models of severe hemolytic anemia and ischemic organ damage in SCD, and provide the opportunity to examine mechanisms of pulmonary hypertension with invasive studies. Hypotheses: Pulmonary hypertension will spontaneously occur in sickle mice but not age-matched colony controls, and severity will increase as the mice grow older. Methods: Male sickle mice were compared with age-matched hemizygotes from the same colony. Mice had cardiac catheterization for baseline hemodynamics, then challenges to assess pulmonary vascular responsiveness. A pathologist made blinded assessments of the pulmonary histology. Results: Cardiac catheterization showed pulmonary hypertension in all sickle mice, and blunted pulmonary vasodilation to all NO donor compounds as well as authentic NO gas. Computed tomography in vivo detected pulmonary vascular congestion. Older sickle mice had modestly increased vessel wall thickness and vascular congestion but no thrombi by histology. Older mice also appear to be in right heart failure. Sickle mouse lungs had decreased eNOS activity (measured by L-arginine to citrulline turnover) and loss of active eNOS dimer (measured by western blotting). Sickle mouse plasma had high NO consumption, consistent with increased NO scavenging by free hemoglobin released by steady state hemolysis. mean & SD hemizygote control (5 mo & 13 mo) 5 mo sickle 13 mo sickle Pulmonary Arterial Pressure (torr) 9.4 (0.7) 18.2 (0.5) 14.8 (0.3) Pulmonary Vascular Resistance 0.37 (0.6) 0.80 (0.07) 0.75 (0.04) Cardiac Output (ml/min) 14.2 (2) 17.1 (2) 12.2 (2) Vasodilation to NO & NO donors, or bradykinin (endothelium-dependent) normal blunted none Vasodilation to CGRP (NO-independent and endothelium-independent) normal normal blunted Hypoxic vasoconstriction (10%O2) normal enhanced enhanced Discussion: This is one of the few descriptions of spontaneous pulmonary hypertension in an animal, and implicates low NO bioavailability mediated by NO resistance/scavenging. Interestingly, pulmonary thromboembolism was not observed. Combined effects of NO scavenging and the loss of active eNOS dimer may explain paradoxical blunted responses to NO donor agents, blunted responses to NO synthase inhibition, and arginine supplementation observed in patients with SCD, despite increased NO synthase protein expression. It is also likely that aberrant superoxide formation from uncoupled monomeric NO synthase contributes to vascular NO scavenging. In conclusion, pulmonary hypertension, associated with a vasoconstrictor phenotype and low NO bioavailability, develops early in the sickle cell transgenic mouse.


2011 ◽  
Vol 301 (5) ◽  
pp. L755-L764 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc Chester ◽  
Gregory Seedorf ◽  
Pierre Tourneux ◽  
Jason Gien ◽  
Nancy Tseng ◽  
...  

Although inhaled NO (iNO) therapy is often effective in treating infants with persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN), up to 40% of patients fail to respond, which may be partly due to abnormal expression and function of soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC). To determine whether altered sGC expression or activity due to oxidized sGC contributes to high pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) and poor NO responsiveness, we studied the effects of cinaciguat (BAY 58-2667), an sGC activator, on pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMC) from normal fetal sheep and sheep exposed to chronic intrauterine pulmonary hypertension (i.e., PPHN). We found increased sGC α1- and β1-subunit protein expression but lower basal cGMP levels in PPHN PASMC compared with normal PASMC. To determine the effects of cinaciguat and NO after sGC oxidation in vitro, we measured cGMP production by normal and PPHN PASMC treated with cinaciguat and the NO donor, sodium nitroprusside (SNP), before and after exposure to 1H-[1,2,4]oxadiazolo[4,3-a]quinoxalin-1-one (ODQ, an sGC oxidizer), hyperoxia (fraction of inspired oxygen 0.50), or hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). After treatment with ODQ, SNP-induced cGMP generation was markedly reduced but the effects of cinaciguat were increased by 14- and 64-fold in PPHN fetal PASMC, respectively ( P < 0.01 vs. controls). Hyperoxia or H2O2enhanced cGMP production by cinaciguat but not SNP in PASMC. To determine the hemodynamic effects of cinaciguat in vivo, we compared serial responses to cinaciguat and ACh in fetal lambs after ductus arteriosus ligation. In contrast with the impaired vasodilator response to ACh, cinaciguat-induced pulmonary vasodilation was significantly increased. After birth, cinaciguat caused a significantly greater fall in PVR than either 100% oxygen, iNO, or ACh. We conclude that cinaciguat causes more potent pulmonary vasodilation than iNO in experimental PPHN. We speculate that increased NO-insensitive sGC may contribute to the pathogenesis of PPHN, and cinaciguat may provide a novel treatment of severe pulmonary hypertension.


1998 ◽  
Vol 85 (3) ◽  
pp. 1070-1078 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deborah U. Frank ◽  
Damian J. Horstman ◽  
Geoffrey N. Morris ◽  
Roger A. Johns ◽  
George F. Rich

Nitric oxide (NO) modulates the endogenous NO-cGMP pathway. We determined whether prolonged inhaled NO downregulates the NO-cGMP pathway, which may explain clinically observed rebound pulmonary hypertension. Rats were placed in a normoxic (N; 21% O2) or hypoxic (H; 10% O2) environment with and without inhaled NO (20 parts/million) for 1 or 3 wk. Subsequently, nitric oxide synthase (NOS) and soluble guanylate cyclase (GC) activity and endothelial NOS (eNOS) protein levels were measured. Perfusate cGMP levels and endothelium-dependent and -independent vasodilation were determined in isolated lungs. eNOS protein levels and NOS activity were not altered by inhaled NO in N or H rats. GC activity was decreased by 60 ± 10 and 55 ± 11% in N and H rats, respectively, after 1 wk of inhaled NO but was not affected after 3 wk. Inhaled NO had no effect on perfusate cGMP in N lungs. Inhaled NO attenuated the increase in cGMP levels caused by 3 wk of H by 57 ± 11%, but there was no rebound in cGMP after 24 h of recovery. Endothelium-dependent vasodilation was not altered, and endothelium-independent vasodilation was not altered (N) or slightly increased (H, 10 ± 3%) by prolonged inhaled NO. In conclusion, inhaled NO did not alter the endogenous NO-cGMP pathway as determined by eNOS protein levels, NOS activity, or endothelium-dependent vasodilation under N and H conditions. GC activity was decreased after 1 wk; however, GC activity was not altered by 3 wk of inhaled NO and endothelium-independent vasodilation was not decreased.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vu Thao-Vi Dao ◽  
Mahmoud H. Elbatreek ◽  
Martin Deile ◽  
Pavel I. Nedvetsky ◽  
Andreas Güldner ◽  
...  

AbstractNitric oxide (NO)-cyclic GMP (cGMP) signaling is a vasoprotective pathway therapeutically targeted for example in pulmonary hypertension. Its dysregulation in disease is incompletely understood. Here we show in pulmonary artery endothelial cells that feedback inhibition by NO of the NO receptor, the cGMP forming soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC), may contribute to this. Both endogenous NO from endothelial NO synthase or exogenous NO from NO donor compounds decreased sGC protein and activity. This was not mediated by cGMP as the NO-independent sGC stimulator or direct activation of cGMP-dependent protein kinase did not mimic it. Thiol-sensitive mechanisms were also not involved as the thiol-reducing agent, N-acetyl-L-cysteine did not prevent this feedback. Instead, both in-vitro and in-vivo and in health and acute respiratory lung disease, chronically elevated NO led to the inactivation and degradation of sGC whilst leaving the heme-free isoform, apo-sGC, intact or even increasing its levels. Thus, NO regulates sGC in a bimodal manner, acutely stimulating and chronically inhibiting, as part of self-limiting direct feedback that is cGMP-independent. In high NO disease conditions, this is aggravated but can be functionally recovered in a mechanism-based manner by apo-sGC activators that re-establish cGMP formation.


2007 ◽  
Vol 292 (2) ◽  
pp. H893-H903 ◽  
Author(s):  
Galina N. Antonova ◽  
Connie M. Snead ◽  
Alexander S. Antonov ◽  
Christiana Dimitropoulou ◽  
Richard C. Venema ◽  
...  

Large (pathological) amounts of nitric oxide (NO) induce cell injury, whereas low (physiological) NO concentrations often ameliorate cell injury. We tested the hypotheses that pretreatment of endothelial cells with low concentrations of NO (preconditioning) would prevent injury induced by high NO concentrations. Apoptosis, induced in bovine aortic endothelial cells (BAECs) by exposing them to either 4 mM sodium nitroprusside (SNP) or 0.5 mM N-(2-aminoethyl)- N-(2-hydroxy-2-nitrosohydrazino)-1,2-ethylenediamine (spermine NONOate) for 8 h, was abolished by 24-h pretreatment with either 100 μM SNP, 10 μM spermine NONOate, or 100 μM 8-bromo-cGMP (8-Br-cGMP). Repair of BAECs following wounding, measured as the recovery rate of transendothelial electrical resistance, was delayed by 8-h exposure to 4 mM SNP, and this delay was significantly attenuated by 24-h pretreatment with 100 μM SNP. NO preconditioning produced increased association and expression of soluble guanyl cyclase (sGC) and heat shock protein 90 (HSP90). The protective effect of NO preconditioning, but not the injurious effect of 4 mM SNP, was abolished by either a sGC activity inhibitor 1H-[1,2,4]oxadiazolo-[4,3- a]quinoxalin-1-one (ODQ) or a HSP90 binding inhibitor (radicicol) and was mimicked by 8-Br-cGMP. We conclude that preconditioning with a low dose of NO donor accelerates repair and maintains endothelial integrity via a mechanism that includes the HSP90/sGC pathway. HSP90/sGC may thus play a role in the protective effects of NO-generating drugs from injurious stimuli.


2014 ◽  
Vol 306 (2) ◽  
pp. L207-L215 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masahiro Enomoto ◽  
Amish Jain ◽  
Jingyi Pan ◽  
Yulia Shifrin ◽  
Todd Van Vliet ◽  
...  

Inhaled nitric oxide (NO) and other cGMP- or cAMP-dependent pulmonary vasodilators are often used in combination for the treatment of the persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn syndrome. There is in vitro evidence to indicate that NO downregulate the pulmonary vascular response to cGMP-dependent agonists raising concern as to whether a synergistic effect is observed when employing a combined strategy in newborns. Hypothesizing that a synergistic effect is absent, we evaluated newborn and juvenile rat pulmonary arteries to determine the individual and combined vasodilatory effect of cGMP- and cAMP-dependent agonists. In precontracted near-resistance pulmonary arteries, the addition of sildenafil reduced vasorelaxation response to NO donor S-nitroso- N-acetyl penicillamine (SNAP). A similar decrease in SNAP-induced vasodilation was observed in arteries pretreated with BAY 41–2272 (10−9 M), a soluble guanylate cyclase stimulator cGMP, and its downstream protein kinase activator. cGMP also reduced the vasorelaxant response to the cAMP-dependent forskolin. Inhibition of endogenous vascular NO generation enhanced SNAP-induced relaxation. The present data suggest that the mechanism involved in the cGMP desensitization to other relaxant agonists involves downregulation of the small heat shock protein HSP20 and is evident in rat pulmonary and systemic vascular smooth muscle cells. In newborn rats with chronic hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension, the combination of sildenafil and inhaled NO resulted in a lesser reduction in pulmonary vascular resistance compared with their individual effect. These data suggest that clinical exposure to one cGMP-dependent pulmonary vasodilator may affect the response to other cGMP- or cAMP-mediated agonists.


1990 ◽  
Vol 68 (2) ◽  
pp. 735-747 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. L. Archer ◽  
K. Rist ◽  
D. P. Nelson ◽  
E. G. DeMaster ◽  
N. Cowan ◽  
...  

The effects of endothelium-dependent vasodilation on pulmonary vascular hemodynamics were evaluated in a variety of in vivo and in vitro models to determine 1) the comparability of the hemodynamic effects of acetylcholine (ACh), bradykinin (BK), nitric oxide (NO), and 8-bromo-guanosine 3′,5′-cyclic monophosphate (cGMP), 2) whether methylene blue is a useful inhibitor of endothelium-dependent relaxing factor (EDRF) activity in vivo, and 3) the effect of monocrotaline-induced pulmonary hypertension on the responsiveness of the pulmonary vasculature to ACh. In isolated rat lungs, which were preconstricted with hypoxia, ACh, BK, NO, and 8-bromo-cGMP caused pulmonary vasodilation, which was not inhibited by maximum tolerable doses of methylene blue. Methylene blue did not inhibit EDRF activity in any model, despite causing increased pulmonary vascular tone and responsiveness to various constrictor agents. There were significant differences in the hemodynamic characteristics of ACh, BK, and NO. In the isolated lung, BK and NO caused transient decreases of hypoxic vasoconstriction, whereas ACh caused more prolonged vasodilation. Pretreatment of these lungs with NO did not significantly inhibit ACh-induced vasodilation but caused BK to produce vasoconstriction. Tachyphylaxis, which was agonist specific, developed with repeated administration of ACh or BK but not NO. Tachyphylaxis probably resulted from inhibition of the endothelium-dependent vasodilation pathway proximal to NO synthesis, because it could be overcome by exogenous NO. Pretreatment with 8-bromo-cGMP decreased hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction and, even when the hypoxic pressor response had largely recovered, subsequent doses of ACh and NO failed to cause vasodilation, although BK produced vasoconstriction. These findings are compatible with the existence of feedback inhibition of the endothelium-dependent relaxation by elevation of cGMP levels. Responsiveness to ACh was retained in lungs with severe monocrotaline-induced pulmonary hypertension. Many of these findings would not have been predicted based on in vitro studies and illustrate the importance for expanding studies of EDRF to in vivo and ex vivo models.


2007 ◽  
Vol 293 (4) ◽  
pp. E1062-E1068 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vitor A. Lira ◽  
Quinlyn A. Soltow ◽  
Jodi H. D. Long ◽  
Jenna L. Betters ◽  
Jeff E. Sellman ◽  
...  

Nitric oxide (NO) and 5′-AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) are involved in glucose transport and mitochondrial biogenesis in skeletal muscle. Here, we examined whether NO regulates the expression of the major glucose transporter in muscle (GLUT4) and whether it influences AMPK-induced upregulation of GLUT4. At low levels, the NO donor S-nitroso- N-penicillamine (SNAP, 1 and 10 μM) significantly increased GLUT4 mRNA (∼3-fold; P < 0.05) in L6 myotubes, and cotreatment with the AMPK inhibitor compound C ablated this effect. The cGMP analog 8-bromo-cGMP (8-Br-cGMP, 2 mM) increased GLUT4 mRNA by ∼50% ( P < 0.05). GLUT4 protein expression was elevated 40% by 2 days treatment with 8-Br-cGMP, whereas 6 days treatment with 10 μM SNAP increased GLUT4 expression by 65%. Cotreatment of cultures with the guanylyl cyclase inhibitor 1H-[1,2,4]oxadiazolo[4,3,-a]quinoxalin-1-one prevented the SNAP-induced increase in GLUT4 protein. SNAP (10 μM) also induced significant phosphorylation of α-AMPK and acetyl-CoA carboxylase and translocation of phosphorylated α-AMPK to the nucleus. Furthermore, L6 myotubes exposed to 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide-1-β-d-ribofuranoside (AICAR) for 16 h presented an approximately ninefold increase in GLUT4 mRNA, whereas cotreatment with the non-isoform-specific NOS inhibitor NG-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester, prevented ∼70% of this effect. In vivo, GLUT4 mRNA was increased 1.8-fold in the rat plantaris muscle 12 h after AICAR injection, and this induction was reduced by ∼50% in animals cotreated with the neuronal and inducible nitric oxide synthases selective inhibitor 1-(2-trifluoromethyl-phenyl)-imidazole. We conclude that, in skeletal muscle, NO increases GLUT4 expression via a cGMP- and AMPK-dependent mechanism. The data are consistent with a role for NO in the regulation of AMPK, possibly via control of cellular activity of AMPK kinases and/or AMPK phosphatases.


2004 ◽  
Vol 286 (5) ◽  
pp. L984-L991 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa K. Kelly ◽  
Stephen Wedgwood ◽  
Robin H. Steinhorn ◽  
Stephen M. Black

The use of exogenous nitric oxide (NO) has been shown to alter the regulation of other endothelially derived mediators of vascular tone, such as endothelin-1 (ET-1). However, the interaction between NO and ET-1 appears to be complex and remains incompletely understood. One of the major actions of NO is the activation of soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) with the subsequent generation of cGMP. Therefore, we undertook this study to test the hypothesis that NO regulates ET-1 production via the activation of the sGC/cGMP pathway. The results obtained indicated that the exposure of primary cultures of 4-wk-old ovine pulmonary arterial endothelial cells (4-wk PAECs) to the long-acting NO donor DETA NONOate induced both a dose- and time-dependent decrease in secreted ET-1. This decrease in ET-1 secretion occurred in the absence of changes in endothelin-converting enzyme-1 or sGC expression but in conjunction with a decrease in prepro-ET-1 mRNA. The changes in ET-1 release were inversely proportional to the cellular cGMP content. Furthermore, the NO-independent activator of sGC, YC-1, or treatment with a cGMP analog also produced significant decreases in ET-1 secretion. Conversely, pretreatment with the sGC inhibitor ODQ blocked the NO-induced decrease in ET-1. Therefore, we conclude that exposure of 4-wk PAECs to exogenous NO decreases secreted ET-1 resulting from the activation of sGC and increased cGMP generation.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document