No abstract

The aim of the current study was to determine if lowering myocardial cyclic GMP by guanylate cyclase inhibition would add independently to the positive inotropic effects caused by raising cyclic AMP and if these effects are modified in left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) produced by aortic valve plication. Isoproterenol (ISO) (0.1 mg x kg(-1) x min(-1)) was infused into a branch of the left anterior descending coronary artery of seven control and eight hypertrophy open-chest anesthetized dogs. After 10 min, simultaneous infusion of methylene blue (MB) (2 mg x kg(-1) x min(-1)) was initiated at the same site. Hypertrophy increased heart weight and heart weight/body weight ratio. While both drugs increased left ventricular dP/dt(max), no additional global effects were observed in either group. Changes in regional variables followed the same pattern in both groups, i.e., ISO produced an increase that was enhanced by the addition of MB. ISO increased segment shortening, with a significant change in the control group. ISO increased regional force in both groups. The addition of MB increased force above ISO levels, with a significant change in the LVH group. ISO increased regional minute work (g x mm x min(-1)) (control, 1779 +/- 428 to 2541 +/- 500; LVH, 1157 +/- 253 to 1839 +/- 404) and O2 consumption. MB further increased regional work (control, 2993 +/- 952; LVH, 2416 +/- 853) and O2 consumption. ISO raised cyclic AMP (pmoles x g(-1)) (control, 468 +/- 41 to 580 +/- 84; LVH, 445 +/- 43 to 562 +/- 71) and had no effect on cyclic GMP (pmoles x g(-1)) (control, baseline 3.27 +/- 0.22, ISO 2.87 +/- 0.23; LVH, baseline 6.84 +/- 1.12, ISO 5.66 +/- 0.54). The addition of MB lowered cyclic GMP (control, 2.41 +/- 0.26; LVH, 3.68 +/- 0.35), but also increased cyclic AMP (control, 1021 +/- 121; LVH, 1107 +/- 134). Similar results were observed in control hearts using a specific soluble guanylate cyclase inhibitor (ODQ) in terms of changes in local work, O2 consumption, and cyclic nucleotides. Thus, at least part of the positive inotropic response to lowering cyclic GMP was mediated by changes in cyclic AMP in the current model. This was true in both control and LVH animals, although baseline cyclic GMP levels were higher, and a larger reduction in cyclic GMP was observed with MB in the LVH group.

The aim of the current study was to determine if lowering myocardial cyclic GMP by guanylate cyclase inhibition would add independently to the positive inotropic effects caused by raising cyclic AMP and if these effects are modified in left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) produced by aortic valve plication. Isoproterenol (ISO) (0.1 mg x kg(-1) x min(-1)) was infused into a branch of the left anterior descending coronary artery of seven control and eight hypertrophy open-chest anesthetized dogs. After 10 min, simultaneous infusion of methylene blue (MB) (2 mg x kg(-1) x min(-1)) was initiated at the same site. Hypertrophy increased heart weight and heart weight/body weight ratio. While both drugs increased left ventricular dP/dt(max), no additional global effects were observed in either group. Changes in regional variables followed the same pattern in both groups, i.e., ISO produced an increase that was enhanced by the addition of MB. ISO increased segment shortening, with a significant change in the control group. ISO increased regional force in both groups. The addition of MB increased force above ISO levels, with a significant change in the LVH group. ISO increased regional minute work (g x mm x min(-1)) (control, 1779 +/- 428 to 2541 +/- 500; LVH, 1157 +/- 253 to 1839 +/- 404) and O2 consumption. MB further increased regional work (control, 2993 +/- 952; LVH, 2416 +/- 853) and O2 consumption. ISO raised cyclic AMP (pmoles x g(-1)) (control, 468 +/- 41 to 580 +/- 84; LVH, 445 +/- 43 to 562 +/- 71) and had no effect on cyclic GMP (pmoles x g(-1)) (control, baseline 3.27 +/- 0.22, ISO 2.87 +/- 0.23; LVH, baseline 6.84 +/- 1.12, ISO 5.66 +/- 0.54). The addition of MB lowered cyclic GMP (control, 2.41 +/- 0.26; LVH, 3.68 +/- 0.35), but also increased cyclic AMP (control, 1021 +/- 121; LVH, 1107 +/- 134). Similar results were observed in control hearts using a specific soluble guanylate cyclase inhibitor (ODQ) in terms of changes in local work, O2 consumption, and cyclic nucleotides. Thus, at least part of the positive inotropic response to lowering cyclic GMP was mediated by changes in cyclic AMP in the current model. This was true in both control and LVH animals, although baseline cyclic GMP levels were higher, and a larger reduction in cyclic GMP was observed with MB in the LVH group.

No abstract

ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLEand low survival, lung cancer is the most common cause of death from cancer worldwide with 1.59 million deaths, more than 1 million in men and 491,000 in women (1). In Europe, it is the third most common cause of cancer, after breast and prostate cancer (1).The epidemiology of lung cancer is changing in many areas of the world in terms of incidence by gender, age class and histological type (3, 4). Different histological subtypes are linked to different risk factors; for example, outdoor particulate matter has been recognized as a stronger risk factor for adenocarcinoma of the lung than for other histologies, while smoking has been associated in the past mainly with squamous cell carcinoma. However, because of the dissemination of low-tar filter cigarettes, smoking has been hypothesized to be linked also with adenocarcinoma (3). Lung cancer appears to have biologically different characteristics in men and women. The histological distribution of lung cancer subtypes is distinctly different and female smokers are more likely to develop adenocarcinoma of the lung than squamous cell carcinoma, which is more common in men (4). However, the differences in incidence rates between men and women are mainly attributable to the different exposure to tobacco smoking (3).