Responses to and the mechanism of action of adrenomedullin (ADM), the carboxy-terminal fragments of ADM, and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), a structurally related peptide, were investigated in the pulmonary vascular bed of the rat. Under conditions of elevated tone and controlled pulmonary blood flow in the isolated blood-perfused rat lung, injections of ADM, the 15-52 amino acid carboxy-terminal ADM analogue (ADM15-52), and CGRP caused dose-related decreases in pulmonary arterial perfusion pressure. In contrast, the carboxy-terminal 22-52 and 40-52 amino acid fragments had no consistent vasodilator activity. After administration of the nitric oxide synthase inhibitors, N omega-nitro-L-arginine benzyl ester or N omega-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME), pulmonary vasodilator responses to ADM, to ADM15-52, to CGRP, to acetylcholine, and to bradykinin were significantly decreased in the rat, whereas vasodilator responses to isoproterenol and nitroglycerin were not changed. However, in the pulmonary vascular bed of the cat, L-NAME had no significant effect on vasodilator responses to ADM in doses that attenuated vasodilator responses to acetylcholine and bradykinin. L-NAME had no effect on responses to isoproterenol or nitric oxide. When the relative vasodilator activity of the active peptides was compared, ADM15-52 was approximately three-fold less potent than ADM, and ADM was threefold less potent than CGRP in decreasing pulmonary vascular resistance in the rat lung. When vasodilator responses were compared in the rat and cat, ADM was threefold more potent in decreasing pulmonary vascular vascular resistance in the cat than in the rat, and vasodilator responses to ADM were independent of the intervention used to raise tone in the rat. The present data demonstrate that ADM and ADM15-52 have significant vasodilator activity in the pulmonary vascular bed of the rat, and that responses to ADM, ADM15-52, and CGRP are dependent on the release of nitric oxide in the rat. The present results indicate that pulmonary vasodilator responses to ADM are not dependent on the release of nitric oxide in the cat and suggest that responses to the peptide are mediated by different mechanisms in the pulmonary vascular bed of the rat and cat.

Adenosine produces tone-dependent pulmonary vascular responses; however, the adenosine receptor subtype mediating these responses is unknown. In the present study, the adenosine receptor subtypes mediating tone-dependent responses were investigated, Intralobar injections of adenosine,ATP, and analogues under low-tone conditions caused dose-related increases in lobar arterial pressure; the order of potency was alpha,beta-methylene ATP (alpha,beta-metATP) > N6-cyclopentyladenosine (CPA) > ATP > adenosine. Under low-tone conditions, pressor responses to adenosine, ATP, and CPA, an adenosine A1-receptor agonist, were reduced by KW-3902, an adenosine A1-receptor antagonist, whereas KW-3902 and meclofenamate had no effect on responses to alpha,beta-metATP, norepinephrine, serotonin, or angiotensin II. Under elevated-tone conditions, injections of adenosine, ATP, and analogues caused dose-related decreases in lobar arterial pressure, and adenosine was 10-fold less potent than 5'-(N-cyclopropyl)-carboxamidoadenosine (CPCA), an A2-receptor agonist, and ATP. KF-17837, an A2-receptor antagonist, reduced vasodilator responses to adenosine and CPCA, whereas responses to ATP, isoproterenol, diethylamine-NO, lemakalim, and bradykinin were not changed. The vasodilator responses to adenosine were not attenuated by Nw-nitro-L-arginine benzyl ester, methylene blue, or U-37883A. These results suggest that vasoconstrictor responses to adenosine are mediated by A1 receptors and the release of vasoconstrictor prostanoids, and that, under elevated-tone conditions, vasodilator responses are mediated by A2 receptors but not the release of nitric oxide or the activation of guanylate cyclase or K+ATP channels.

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Responses to des-Arg'-bradykinin, a selective kinin Bi receptor agonist, were characterized in the pulmonary vascular bed of the intact-chest cat. Injections of des-Arg'-bradykinin into the perfused lobar artery under low-resting tone conditions caused dose-related increases in lobar arterial pressure; whereas in the same experiment under elevated tone responses under elevated-tone conditions were inhibited by N'-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester, suggesting that des-Arg'-bradykinin stimulates the release of nitric oxide, whereas meclofenamate and U-37883A, a nonsulfonylurea ATP-sensitive K' channel antagonist, did not alter vasodilator responses to the Bi receptor agonist. These results suggest that vasoconstrictor responses to des-Arg'-bradykinin under low-tone conditions are mediated by the activation of kinin Bi receptors, the release of catecholamines within the lung, and the activation of a-adrenergic receptors, whereas vasodilator responses under elevated tone conditions are mediated by activation of Bi receptors and the release of nitric oxide from the endothelium. These data provide pharmacologic evidence for the existence of functionally active kinin Bi receptors that mediate tone-dependent vasoconstrictor and vasodilator responses in the pulmonary vascular bed of the cat. (Circ Res. 1994;75:1064-1072 Key Words * des-Arg9-bradykinin * Hoe 140 * pulmonary vascular bed * kinin Bi receptor * nitric oxideThere is considerable pharmacologic evidence in support of the concept of BK receptor heterogeneity.2'3'13'14The classic BK receptor subtypes have been characterized as B1 and B2, and the action of BK on the B2 receptor is thought to mediate the majority of physiological responses to the kinins.23 The Bi receptor is selectively stimulated by DABK on the basis of highaffinity contractile activity of the peptide in the rabbit aorta, mesenteric vein, and basilar artery; however, this receptor is not believed to play an important role under physiological conditions.314 The development of competitive, potent, selective kinin receptor antagonists has provided support for the identity of Bi receptors.2'3 DABK does not activate B2 receptors but stimulates kinin B1 receptors, and a change in the balance between levels of BK and its metabolite, DABK, could change the emphasis and effects of the kinin system.23"15Although Bi receptors are not thought to be physiologically important in mediating cardiovascular responses to kinins, such as increased vascular permeability, smooth muscle contraction, vasodilation, and hypotension, they have recently been shown to play a role in mediating decreases in systemic arterial pressure in the dog under physiological conditions.'6-19 Kinin

The effects of the vascular selective nonsulfonylurea guanidine ATP-sensitive K+ (KATP+) channel-blocking agent U-37883A on vasodilator and vasoconstrictor responses were investigated in the pulmonary and hindlimb vascular beds of the cat. Under elevated tone conditions, both U-37883A and the sulfonylurea KATP+ antagonist, glibenclamide, attenuated pulmonary vasodilator responses to the KATP+ channel openers without altering responses to vasodilator agents that are reported to act by KATP(+)-independent mechanisms. However, under low resting-tone conditions, U-37883A enhanced pulmonary vasoconstrictor responses to the thromboxane mimic U-46619 and to prostaglandin (PG) F2 alpha and PGD2, whereas glibenclamide antagonized responses to U-46619 and the vasoconstrictor PG. In the hindlimb vascular bed, U-37883A and glibenclamide had no effects on responses to U-46619 in doses that inhibited vasodilator responses to the KATP+ channel opener levcromakalim. U-37883A and glibenclamide had no significant effect on baseline tone in the pulmonary or hindlimb vascular beds, and neither U-37883A nor glibenclamide altered pulmonary vasodilator responses to PGE1. The results of the present investigation show that U-37883A and glibenclamide, agents that are used in the study of vascular smooth muscle KATP+ channel mechanisms and attenuate vasodilator responses to the KATP+ channel openers, have pronounced effects on thromboxane/PG receptor-mediated vasoconstrictor responses in the pulmonary vascular bed of the cat.

Responses to bradykinin (BK) were investigated in the pulmonary vascular bed of the cat under conditions of controlled pulmonary blood flow and constant left atrial pressure when lobar arterial pressure was elevated to a high steady level. Under elevated-tone conditions, BK caused dose-related decreases in lobar arterial pressure. After administration of Hoe-140, a BK B2-receptor antagonist, vasodilator responses to BK were reduced in a selective manner. Vasodilator responses to BK were unchanged by atropine, glibenclamide, meclofenamate, or bronchial occlusion, suggesting that responses are not dependent on the activation of muscarinic receptors or K+ATP channels, the release of vasodilator prostaglandins, or changes in bronchomotor tone. The nitric oxide (NO) synthase inhibitors N omega-nitro-L-arginine benzyl ester and N omega-nitro-L-arginine reduced vasodilator responses to BK in a selective manner, indicating that responses to BK are mediated in part by the release of NO. Methylene blue, an inhibitor of the activation of soluble guanylate cyclase, increased lobar arterial pressure and decreased responses to BK. The increases in lobar arterial pressure in response to methylene blue were partially reversed by the administration of superoxide dismutase, indicating that generation of O2- may inactivate basally released NO. The duration of the response to BK was enhanced by the guanosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cGMP) phosphodiesterase inhibitor Zaprinast, suggesting that responses to BK involve increases in cGMP levels. Responses to BK were enhanced by captopril, indicating that BK is rapidly inactivated by kininase II in the lung.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

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