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.
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.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.