Abstract-D-Glucose infusion and gestational diabetes induce vasodilatation in humans and increase L-arginine Key Words: humans Ⅲ endothelium Ⅲ glucose Ⅲ arginine Ⅲ nitric oxide T he cationic amino acid L-arginine is the substrate for nitric oxide (NO) synthesis via endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) 1 and is taken up primarily by the Na ϩ -independent high-affinity (K m Ϸ100 to 400 mol/L) systems y ϩ /CAT-1 and y ϩ /CAT-2B (where CAT indicates cationic amino acid transporter) in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). 2,3 L-Arginine transport and NO synthesis (Larginine/NO pathway) are increased in HUVECs from patients with gestational diabetes. 2 Interestingly, long-term incubation (24 hours) of HUVECs from normal pregnancies with elevated D-glucose mimics the effect of gestational diabetes on the L-arginine/NO pathway. 4 In addition, elevated D-glucose for 24 hours 4,5 or 5 days 6 increases eNOS gene expression. A recent report shows that D-glucose infusion induces vasodilatation in humans, 7 and in animal models, an elevation of plasma D-glucose results in rapid (seconds to minutes) vasodilatation. 8 -10 Therefore, rapid fluctuations in the D-glucose level are crucial in maintaining human fetal endothelial function. [2][3][4][5]11 D-Glucose activates protein kinase C (PKC), an enzyme involved with long-term stimulation of the L-arginine/NO pathway, 5,12-14 and (within 1 hour) p42 and p44 mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases (p42/44 mapk ). 5,14,15 p42/44 mapk activation may itself be dependent on PKC activation and NO synthesis. 5,14 However, the effect of short-term incubation with elevated D-glucose on the endothelial L-arginine/NO pathway has not been investigated. 4,11,16,17 The present study shows that a 2-minute incubation with 25 mmol/L D-glucose increases L-arginine transport and NO synthesis in HUVECs. The underlying cellular mechanisms involve phosphorylation of eNOS at Ser 1177 via phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3-k) and activation of eNOS and p42/ p44 mapk by D-glucose. 18 Materials and Methods
Cell CultureHuman umbilical vein endothelium was isolated (collagenase digestion 0.25 mg/mL) and cultured (37°C, 5% CO 2 , confluent passage 2) in medium 199 containing 5 mmol/L D-glucose, 10% newborn calf serum, 10% fetal calf serum, 3.2 mmol/L L-glutamine, 100 mol/L L-arginine, and 100 U/mL penicillin-streptomycin (primary culture medium). [2][3][4] Before an experiment (24 hours), the incubation medium was changed to serum-free medium 199.