S U M M A R Y Sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P), which derives from the metabolism of sphingomyelin, is mainly synthesized, stored, and released from platelets after activation by physiological and pathophysiological events. S1P acts in cardiovascular tissues through cell surface G-protein-coupled receptors of the endothelial differentiation gene (EDG) family, i.e., EDG1, EDG3 and EDG5. The aim of the present study was to assess the precise distribution of EDG1, EDG3, and EDG5 receptors expressed in human cardiovascular tissues to investigate their respective physiological implication. When assessed by Northern blots, EDG1, EDG3, and EDG5 displayed wide expression levels in decreasing order, respectively. In particular, EDG3 was mainly detected in the aorta. Detailed analysis by in situ hybridization (ISH) and immunohistochemistry (IHC) revealed strong EDG1 expression in cardiomyocytes and in endothelial cells of cardiac vessels. In cardiomyocytes, the EDG1 receptor is likely to be co-expressed with EDG3 and EDG5, although EDG1 exhibits the most prominent expression pattern. Unlike EDG3 and EDG5, which are expressed in the smooth muscle cell layer of the human aorta, no signal corresponding to EDG1 expression could be detected in the aorta. Moreover, only EDG3 expression was also found in smooth muscle cells of cardiac vessels. The present results provide new insight into the expression pattern of S1P receptors in human cardiovascular tissues, indicating a differential pattern of expression for these receptors in human vessels.
The incidence of ventricular arrhythmias occurring during acute myocardial ischemia and reperfusion was studied in anesthetized rabbits with chronic heart failure. Cardiac failure was induced by volume and pressure overload and was characterized by marked hypertrophy (84%) and lower systolic aortic blood pressure (112 +/- 3 mmHg) than in controls (124 +/- 2 mmHg, P less than 0.01). During the first 20 min postcoronary artery ligation, the incidence and duration of ventricular fibrillation were greater in the heart failure group (76% and 485 +/- 77 s, respectively) compared with the control group (27% and 86 +/- 37 s, respectively, P less than 0.01). Reperfusion-induced arrhythmias after various ischemic durations were also more frequent in the heart failure group than in the control group. Papillary muscles taken from rabbits with heart failure showed a reduced diastolic potential and a prolonged action potential duration (APD90) compared with the control group (by 7 and 46%, respectively), but there was no change in maximum upstroke velocity. The present study established that rabbits with pronounced morphological signs of chronic heart failure have an enhanced susceptibility to ischemia and reperfusion-induced arrhythmias. As already described in situations of uncomplicated cardiac hypertrophy, a delay in the repolarization process could represent an arrhythmogenic mechanism in this model.
Glibenclamide may increase the probability of spontaneous termination of ventricular fibrillation and facilitate the restoration of the myocardial function during regional ischaemia.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.