Many obese hypertensive individuals have a cluster of cardiovascular risk factors. This cluster includes plasma nonesterified fatty acid concentrations and turnover rates that are higher and more resistant to suppression by insulin than in lean and obese normotensive individuals. The higher fatty acids may contribute to cardiovascular risk in these patients by inhibiting endothelial cell nitric oxide synthase activity. To test this hypothesis, we quantified the effects of oleic (18:1[cis]) and other 18-carbon fatty acids on nitric oxide synthase activity in cultured bovine pulmonary artery endothelial cells by measuring the conversion of [3H]L-arginine to [3H]L-citrulline. Oleic acid (from 10 to 100 mumol/L) caused a concentration-dependent decrease in nitric oxide synthase activity at baseline and during ATP and ionomycin (Ca2+ ionophore) stimulation. At 100 mumol/L, linoleic (18:2[cis]) and oleic acids caused similar reductions of nitric oxide synthase activity, whereas elaidic (18:1[trans]) and stearic (18:0) acids had no effect. Oleic acid also inhibited the endothelium-dependent vasodilator response to acetylcholine in rabbit femoral artery rings preconstricted with phenylephrine (P < .05) but had no effect on the response to nitroprusside. The pattern of 18-carbon fatty acid effects on nitric oxide synthase activity in endothelial cells is consistent with activation of protein kinase C. Although oleic acid increased protein kinase C activity in endothelial cells, neither depletion of protein kinase C by 24-hour pretreatment with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate nor its inhibition with staurosporine eliminated the inhibitory effect of oleic acid on nitric oxide synthase.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Neutrophils, a source of proteolytic enzymes and oxygen free radicals, have been shown to participate in animal models of myocardial ischemic injury. To characterize neutrophil activation in human ischemic heart disease, a specific neutrophil elastase-derived fibrinopeptide in plasma was measured in 25 patients with stable angina pectoris, 29 patients with unstable angina pectoris, 17 patients with acute myocardial infarction and 22 control subjects. Mean plasma levels (+/- standard error) of a neutrophil elastase-derived fibrinopeptide (B beta 30-43) measured by a specific radioimmunoassay were fivefold higher in patients with acute myocardial infarction (877 +/- 337 pmol/liter, p less than 0.02) and 13-fold higher in patients with unstable angina (2,277 +/- 613 pmol/liter, p less than 0.006) as compared with control subjects (172 +/- 74 pmol/liter). Mean plasma levels of peptide B beta 30-43 in patients with stable angina (676 +/- 334 pmol/liter), although higher than in control subjects, were not significantly increased (p = 0.64). Total leukocyte counts were 11.0 +/- 0.6 x 10(6)/ml in those with acute myocardial infarction, 9.2 +/- 0.7 x 10(6)/ml in those with unstable angina, 7.1 +/- 0.3 x 10(6)/ml in those with stable angina and 7.7 +/- 0.4 x 10(6)/ml in control subjects. Although total leukocyte counts in patients with unstable angina pectoris and acute myocardial infarction were higher (p less than 0.01) than in patients with stable angina or in control subjects, elevations in peptide B beta 30-43 levels were independent of the differences in both leukocyte count and absolute neutrophil count as well as in history of smoking, hypertension, diabetes mellitus or treatment.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Chronic ethanol consumption is associated with an increased prevalence of hypertension. The mechanisms of this form of hypertension are unknown. Rats fed ethanol for 2 days develop a tolerance to the acute vasoconstrictive effects of ethanol that is believed to be endothelium dependent. We investigated the effects of acute and chronic ethanol exposure on agonist-stimulated nitric oxide synthase activity in bovine pulmonary artery endothelial cells. Exposure of bovine pulmonary artery endothelial cells to ethanol (100 mmol/L) for 20-120 minutes did not change either basal or agonist-stimulated nitric oxide synthase activity measured as the rate of conversion of [Chronic exposure of endothelial cells to ethanol (100 mmol/L) for 96 hours significantly increased bradykinin-, adenosine 5'-triphosphate-, and ionomycin-stimulated nitric oxide synthase activity without affecting basal enzyme activity. The ethanol-induced increase in nitric oxide synthase response to agonists was dependent on the duration of ethanol exposure as well as the concentration of ethanol. Moreover, the effect of ethanol was characterized by an increase in the maximal nitric oxide synthase response to adenosine 5'-triphosphate without changes in the EC^. Removal of calcium or addition of iV-nitro-L-arginine completely abolished agonist-stimulated nitric oxide synthase activity in both control and ethanol-treated cells. Our observations support the hypothesis that ethanol enhances nitric oxide synthase response to agonists during early ethanol exposure and may serve in a protective role against its hypertensive effect (Hypertension 1993^1:939-943) KEY WORDS • ethanol • endothelium • nitric oxide • endothelium-derived relaxing factor • hypertension, ethanol-related C hronic ethanol (EtOH) consumption is associated with an increased prevalence of arterial hypertension in humans and experimental animals.'" 3 The mechanisms of ethanol-associated hypertension are unknown but may include intermittent withdrawal, alterations in catecholamine production, and direct constrictive effects of ethanol on blood vessels.1 In animal and human studies, the acute administration of ethanol results in vasoconstriction of most vascular beds. 4 -3 However, chronic ethanol feeding to rats results in the early development of tolerance to the acute vasoconstrictive effect of ethanol 6 -7 that is believed to be endothelium dependent. 89 In addition, studies in ethanol-fed rats have demonstrated augmented relaxation of vascular rings to acetylcholine and adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP).