Nayeem MA, Ponnoth DS, Boegehold MA, Zeldin DC, Falck JR, Mustafa SJ. High-salt diet enhances mouse aortic relaxation through adenosine A 2A receptor via CYP epoxygenases. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 296: R567-R574, 2009. First published December 24, 2008 doi:10.1152/ajpregu.90798.2008.-We hypothesize that A 2A adenosine receptors (A2A AR) promote aortic relaxation in mice through cytochrome P450 (CYP)-epoxygenases and help to avoid salt sensitivity. Aortas from male mice maintained on a high-salt (HS; 7% NaCl) or normal-salt (NS; 0.45% NaCl) diet for 4 -5 wks were used. Concentration-response curves (10 Ϫ11 -10 Ϫ5 M) for 5Ј-N-ethylcarboxamidoadenosine (NECA; a nonselective adenosine analog) and CGS 21680 ( Ϫ7 M of NECA, significant relaxation in HS (ϩ22.58 Ϯ 3.12%) was observed compared with contraction in NS (Ϫ10.62 Ϯ 6.27%, P Ͻ 0.05). ZM 241385 changed the NECA response to contraction (P Ͻ 0.05) in HS. At 10 Ϫ7 M of CGS 21680, significant relaxation in HS (ϩ32.04 Ϯ 3.08%) was observed compared with NS (ϩ10.45 Ϯ 1.34%, P Ͻ 0.05). SCH 58261, L-NAME, MS-PPOH, and 14,15-EEZE changed the CGS 21680-induced relaxation to contraction (P Ͻ 0.05) in HS. Interestingly, DDMS and HET0016 changed CGS 21680 response to relaxation (P Ͻ 0.05) in NS; however, there was no significant difference found between DDMS, HET0016-treated HS and NS vs. nontreated HS group (P Ͼ 0.05). CYP2C29 protein was 55% and 74% upregulated in HS vs. NS (P Ͻ 0.05) mice aorta and kidney, respectively. CYP4A protein was 30.30% and 35.70% upregulated in NS vs. HS (P Ͻ 0.05) mice aorta and kidneys, respectively. A1 AR was downregulated, whereas A2A AR was upregulated in HS compared with NS. These data suggest that HS may activate CYP2C29 via A2A AR, causing relaxation, whereas NS may contribute to the upregulation of CYP4A causing contraction.vasodilation; vasoconstriction SEVERAL LINES OF EVIDENCE suggest that adenosine is cardioprotective (29 -31). This nucleoside is present in nearly every tissue and organ (17, 29 -31) and is involved in modulation of various physiological activities (31-34, 40). Furthermore, the production of adenosine is also increased under stressful conditions such as hypoxia, ischemia, and inflammation and in response to pathological events (27, 38).The regulation of vascular tone by adenosine involves activation of four receptor subtypes: A 1 , A 2A , A 2B , and A 3 . Adenosine A 1 and A 2A receptors are widely distributed throughout the peripheral vasculature (24,45,46). Adenosine-induced vasodilation is primarily caused by the activation of A 2A receptors in the coronary and renal arteries and other vessels (1,2,15,28,43).There is a correlation between adenosine and salt intake; switching rats from a normal-salt (NS) diet to a high-salt (HS) diet leads to increased adenosine levels in the renal cortex and medulla and increased urinary adenosine levels (41). Through the activation of A 2A receptors, this increase in renal adenosine concentration could possibly contribute to a reduction in macula densa-mediated re...