Endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) is critical in the regulation of vascular function, and can generate both nitric oxide (NO) and superoxide (O2•−), which are key mediators of cellular signalling. In the presence of Ca2+/calmodulin, eNOS produces NO, endothelial-derived relaxing factor, from L-arginine (L-Arg) by means of electron transfer from NADPH through a flavin containing reductase domain to oxygen bound at the haem of an oxygenase domain, which also contains binding sites for tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) and L-Arg1–3. In the absence of BH4, NO synthesis is abrogated and instead O2•− is generated4–7. While NOS dysfunction occurs in diseases with redox stress, BH4 repletion only partly restores NOS activity and NOS-dependent vasodilation7. This suggests that there is an as yet unidentified redox-regulated mechanism controlling NOS function. Protein thiols can undergo S-glutathionylation, a reversible protein modification involved in cellular signalling and adaptation8,9. Under oxidative stress, S-glutathionylation occurs through thiol–disulphide exchange with oxidized glutathione or reaction of oxidant-induced protein thiyl radicals with reduced glutathione10,11. Cysteine residues are critical for the maintenance of eNOS function12,13; we therefore speculated that oxidative stress could alter eNOS activity through S-glutathionylation. Here we show that S-glutathionylation of eNOS reversibly decreases NOS activity with an increase in O2•− generation primarily from the reductase, in which two highly conserved cysteine residues are identified as sites of S-glutathionylation and found to be critical for redox-regulation of eNOS function. We show that eNOS S-glutathionylation in endothelial cells, with loss of NO and gain of O2•− generation, is associated with impaired endothelium-dependent vasodilation. In hypertensive vessels, eNOS S-glutathionylation is increased with impaired endothelium-dependent vasodilation that is restored by thiol-specific reducing agents, which reverse this S-glutathionylation. Thus, S-glutathionylation of eNOS is a pivotal switch providing redox regulation of cellular signalling, endothelial function and vascular tone.
Cigarette smoking is a major independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease. While the association between chronic smoking and cardiovascular disease is well established, the underlying mechanisms are incompletely understood, partly due to the lack of adequate in vivo animal models. Here, we report a mouse model of chronic smoking-induced cardiovascular pathology. Male C57BL/6J mice were exposed to whole body mainstream cigarette smoke (CS) using a SCIREQ "InExpose" smoking system (48 min/day, 5 days/wk) for 16 or 32 wk. Age-matched, air-exposed mice served as nonsmoking controls. Blood pressure was measured, and cardiac MRI was performed. In vitro vascular ring and isolated heart experiments were performed to measure vascular reactivity and cardiac function. Blood from control and smoking mice was studied for the nitric oxide (NO) decay rate and reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. With 32 wk of CS exposure, mice had significantly less body weight gain and markedly higher blood pressure. At 32 wk of CS exposure, ACh-induced vasorelaxation was significantly shifted to the right and downward, left ventricular mass was significantly larger along with an increased heart-to-body weight ratio, in vitro cardiac function tended to be impaired with high afterload, white blood cells had significantly higher ROS generation, and the blood NO decay rate was significantly faster. Thus, smoking led to blunted weight gain, hypertension, endothelial dysfunction, leukocyte activation with ROS generation, decreased NO bioavailability, and mild cardiac hypertrophy in mice that were not otherwise predisposed to disease. This mouse model is a useful tool to enable further elucidation of the molecular and cellular mechanisms of smoking-induced cardiovascular diseases.
Inheritable missense mutations in small molecular weight heat-shock proteins (HSP) with chaperone-like properties promote self-oligomerization, protein aggregation, and pathologic states such as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in humans. We recently described that human mutant αB-crystallin (hR120GCryAB) overexpression that caused protein aggregation cardiomyopathy (PAC) was genetically linked to dysregulation of the antioxidant system and reductive stress (RS) in mice. However, the molecular mechanism that induces RS remains only partially understood. Here we define a critical role for the regulatory nuclear erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2)-Kelch-like ECH-associated protein (Keap1) pathway--the master transcriptional controller of antioxidants, in the pathogenesis of PAC and RS. In myopathic mice, increased reactive oxygen species signaling during compensatory hypertrophy (i.e., 3 months) was associated with upregulation of key antioxidants in a manner consistent with Nrf2/antioxidant response element (ARE)-dependent transactivation. In transcription factor assays, we further demonstrate increased binding of Nrf2 to ARE during the development of cardiomyopathy. Of interest, we show that the negative regulator Keap1 was predominantly sequestrated in protein aggregates (at 6 months), suggesting that sustained nuclear translocation of activated Nrf2 may be a contributing mechanism for RS. Our findings implicate a novel pathway for therapeutic targeting and abrogating RS linked to experimental cardiomyopathy in humans. Antioxid.
In the vasculature, nitric oxide (NO) is generated by endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) in a calcium/calmodulin-dependent reaction. With oxidative stress, the critical cofactor BH 4 is depleted, and NADPH oxidation is uncoupled from NO generation, leading to production of (O 2 . . generation from the enzyme at low Ca 2؉ concentrations, and PKC␣-mediated phosphorylation alters the sensitivity of the enzyme to other negative regulatory signals. Nitric-oxide synthase (NOS)2 is a critical enzyme that converts L-arginine (L-Arg) to L-citrulline and nitric oxide (NO) with the consumption of NADPH. NO is a signaling molecule that promotes vascular smooth muscle relaxation and functions as an endogenous mediator of a wide range of effects in different tissues (1, 2). After oxidant stress, as occurs in postischemic tissues, production of O 2. and its derived oxidants, including peroxynitrite (ONOO Ϫ ), hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ), and hydroxyl radical (⅐OH), induce NOS dysfunction with uncoupling of the enzyme leading to the production of NOSderived O 2. instead of NO (3, 4). It has been reported that an imbalance between NO and O 2 . can contribute to the onset of a variety of cardiovascular diseases, including hypertension, atherosclerosis, and heart failure (5). Therefore, tight coupling of the enzyme is important for normal cardiovascular function and prevention of disease. The catalytic domains of NOS include a flavin-containing NADPH binding reductase and a heme-binding oxygenase that also contains the binding sites for the redox labile cofactor tetrahydrobiopterin (BH 4 ) and the substrate L-Arg. In the presence of Ca 2ϩ and calmodulin (CaM), electrons flow from NADPH through the reductase domain to the oxygenase domain resulting in the activation of oxygen at the heme center followed by substrate monooxygenation. This process requires the presence of the fully reduced BH 4 . Our laboratory and several others have demonstrated that besides synthesizing NO, all three isoforms of NOS can also generate O 2 . , depending on substrate and cofactor availability (3, 6 -9). One of the primary mechanisms implicated in the oxidant-induced switch of NOS from the production of NO to the generation of O 2 . is the oxidation of the enzyme bound BH 4 (10, 11). Various extracellular signals, including shear stress and additional stimuli such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), estrogen, sphingosine 1-phosphate, bradykinin, and aldosterone, modulate eNOS NO generation through several signal transduction pathways (12)(13)(14)(15)(16). Cellular studies have demonstrated that phosphorylation of eNOS at specific amino acids regulates enzyme-mediated NO production (17). The majority of previous work has focused on two residues, serine 1177 and threonine 495. It has been shown that Akt specifically induces phosphorylation of Ser-1177 (18, 19) and that PKC specifically phosphorylates . Although phosphorylation of Ser-1177 has been shown to increase NO production * This work was supported, in whole or in part, by National Institu...
The goal of this study was to determine whether acetylcholine evokes endothelium-dependent contraction in mouse arteries and to define the mechanisms involved in regulating this response. Arterial rings isolated from wild-type (WT) and endothelial nitric oxide (NO) synthase knockout (eNOS(-/-)) mice were suspended for isometric tension recording. In abdominal aorta from WT mice contracted with phenylephrine, acetylcholine caused a relaxation that reversed at the concentration of 0.3-3 microM. After inhibition of NO synthase [with N(omega)-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester (l-NAME), 1 mM], acetylcholine (0.1-10 microM) caused contraction under basal conditions or during constriction to phenylephrine, which was abolished by endothelial denudation. This contraction was inhibited by the cyclooxygenase inhibitor indomethacin (1 muM) or by a thromboxane A(2) (TxA(2)) and/or prostaglandin H(2) receptor antagonist SQ-29548 (1 microM) and was associated with endothelium-dependent generation of the TxA(2) metabolite TxB(2.) Also, SQ-29548 (1 microM) abolished the reversal in relaxation evoked by 0.3-3 microM acetylcholine and subsequently enhanced the relaxation to the agonist. The magnitude of the endothelium-dependent contraction to acetylcholine (0.1-10 microM) was similar in aortas from WT mice treated in vitro with l-NAME and from eNOS(-/-) mice. In addition, we found that acetylcholine (10 microM) also caused endothelium-dependent contraction in carotid and femoral arteries of eNOS(-/-) mice. These results suggest that acetylcholine initiates two competing responses in mouse arteries: endothelium-dependent relaxation mediated predominantly by NO and endothelium-dependent contraction mediated most likely by TxA(2).
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