Genetic variations of far-reaching consequences have been established between spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and their controls, Wistar Kyoto rats (WKY). The SHR strain is the most widely used model for the study of genetic hypertension. Calcium homeostasis in the vascular smooth muscle (VSM) is controlled by calcium channels and calcium pumps located in both VSM and the overlying endothelial cells that line the large blood vessels and the heart. Hypertension adversely affects calcium homeostasis. Investigations on the import of calcium from extracellular spaces with alpha1-adrenergic stimulation as a function of contractility of VSM cells in SHR and WKY were made and compared with the contractility observed in VSM cells of Sprague-Dawley (CD) rats. Experiments were performed on rings from thoracic aortas of three strains with endothelial lining intact or removed to discern the paracrine control of endothelium on contractility in response to calcium import. The internal stores of Ca2+ were depleted by repeated alpha 1-adrenergic stimulation with phenylephrine (PE) and refilling of these stores was prevented by cyclopiazonic acid (CPA) and/or thapsigargin (TG), two known inhibitors of Ca2+ATPase, the enzyme that drives sarcoplasmic calcium pumps. The two components of tonic muscular contraction, T I and T II, which are known to be due to the flow of Ca2+ from the extracellular gradient controlled via the poly-phosphoinositide cascade and nifedipine sensitive Ca2+ channels were found to be variable among these strains. Implications of these variations are discussed in this report
The vascular reactivity to DL-ortho-, meta-, and para-octopamine was tested in vitro in aortic smooth muscle of the rat. When reactivities were compared on a molar basis with L-phenylephrine, an α-adrenergic agonist, the potencies of the three isomers were: 0.7500, 0.0075 and 0.0038 times that of phenylephrine for the m-, p- and o-isomer, respectively. Thus, of the three isomers, DL-m-octopamine had the greatest α-adrenergic activity in vitro as it did in vivo in earlier studies. Additional studies showed L-phenylephrine to induce about one-third the vascular response induced by L-norepinephrine.
Dysfunction of vascular smooth muscle (VSM) is at the center of occlusive disorders of the cardiovascular system such as hypertension, atherosclerosis, coronary artery disease and hypoxia. In addition to circulating biogenic amines and various neurotransmitters originating from the central nervous system and endocrine system, various autocoids of arachidonic acid metabolism in the blood as well as in the endothelium play an important regulatory role in the maintenance of the tone and the contractile function of VSM. A monolayer of endothelial cells lining the heart and large blood vessels is responsible for producing and releasing both endocrine and paracrine substances such as endothelins, nitric oxide, prostaglandins and prostacyclins. Aspirin, (acetylsalicylic acid/ASA) an ancient remedy against fever and pain, is emerging as an effective drug not only against occlusive disorders but also against various cancers and the AIDs virus. During pregnancy induced hypertension (PIH) and in occlusive disorders, aspirin provides relief through inhibition of cyclooxygenase, an enzyme required for the metabolism of arachidonic acid to produce prostaglandins and prostacyclins in platelets and in endothelial cells. Because of its unique molecular constitution, synergistic ability and solubility in the lipidic environment, various mechanisms of aspirin's actions are being currently investigated. In this review, the effect of aspirin on the regulation of VSM in the presence and absence of endothelium are discussed.
A small, acidic and heat-stable protein was purified from bovine brains by column chromatography on DEAE-cellulose, Bio-Gel HTP, Affi-Gel phenothiazine and Sephadex G-75. This protein stimulates megamodulin-dependent protein kinase I from brains and phosphoprotein phosphatases from either brain or yeast. However, it inhibits cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinases from skeletal muscle.
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