Key pointsr Recent studies have shown that some of the deleterious effects of a high-salt (HS) diet are independent of elevated blood pressure and are associated with impaired endothelial function.r Increased generation of cyclo-oxygenase (COX-1 and COX-2)-derived vasoconstrictor factors and endothelial activation may contribute to impaired vascular relaxation during HS loading.r The present study aimed to assess the regulation of microvascular reactivity and to clarify the role of COX-1 and COX-2 in normotensive subjects on a short-term HS diet.r The present study demonstrates the important role of COX-1 derived vasoconstrictor metabolites in regulation of microvascular blood flow during a HS diet.r These results help to explain how even short-term HS diets may impact upon microvascular reactivity without changes in blood pressure and suggest that a vasoconstrictor metabolite of COX-1 could play a role in this impaired tissue blood flow. AbstractThe present study aimed to assess the effect of a 1-week high-salt (HS) diet on the role of cyclo-oxygenases (COX-1 and COX-2) and the vasoconstrictor prostaglandins, thromboxane A 2 (TXA 2 ) and prostaglandin F 2α (PGF 2α ), on skin microcirculatory blood flow, as well as to detect its effect on markers of endothelial activation such as soluble cell adhesion molecules. Young women (n = 54) were assigned to either the HS diet group (N = 30) (ß14 g day -1 NaCl ) or low-salt (LS) diet group (N = 24) (<2.3 g day -1 NaCl ) for 7 days. Post-occlusive reactive hyperaemia (PORH) in the skin microcirculation was assessed by laser Doppler flowmetry. Plasma renin activity, plasma aldosterone, plasma and 24 h urine sodium and potassium, plasma concentrations of TXB 2 (stable TXA 2 metabolite) and PGF 2α , soluble cell adhesion molecules and blood pressure were measured before and after the diet protocols. One HS diet group subset received 100 mg of indomethacin (non-selective COX-1 and COX-2 inhibitor), and another HS group subset received 200 mg of celecoxib (selective COX-2 inhibitor) before repeating laser Doppler flowmetry measurements. Blood pressure was unchanged after the HS diet, although it significantly reduced after the LS diet. Twenty-four hour urinary sodium was increased, and plasma renin activity and plasma aldosterone levels were decreased after the HS diet. The HS diet significantly impaired PORH and increased TXA 2 but did not change PGF 2α levels. Indomethacin restored microcirculatory blood flow and reduced TXA 2 . By contrast, celecoxib decreased TXA 2 levels but had no significant effects on blood flow. Restoration of of PORH by indomethacin during a HS diet suggests an important role of COX-1 derived vasoconstrictor metabolites in the regulation of microvascular blood flow during HS intake.

Background and aims The hypothesis of this study was that microvascular flow-induced dilation (FID) and acetylcholine-induced dilation (AChID) is impaired in visceral (VAT) compared to subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) arterioles in morbidly obese women. Additional aim was to determine the mechanisms contributing to FID and AChID in VAT and SAT arterioles. Methods and results Arterioles were obtained from SAT and VAT biopsies from women (BMI>35 kg/m2) undergoing bariatric surgery. Microvessels were cannulated for reactivity measurements in response to flow (pressure gradients of 10–100 cmH2O) and to acetylcholine (ACh;10−9–10−4 M) with and without Nω-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME), indomethacin (INDO), and PEG-catalase. Nitric oxide (NO)and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) generation were detected in arterioles by fluorescence microscopy. FID and AChID of arterioles from VAT were reduced compared to SAT arterioles. In SAT arterioles, L-NAME, INDO, and PEG-catalase significantly reduced FID and AChID but had no effect individually on VAT arterioles’ vasodilator reactivity. INDO+L-NAME reduced FID in VAT arterioles. NO-fluorescence was greater in arterioles from SAT compared to VAT arterioles. Vascular H2O2 generation during flow was similar in both VAT and SAT. Conclusion Our results suggest that VAT arterioles display reduced vasodilator reactivity to flow and ACh compared to SAT arterioles, mediated by different regulatory mechanisms in human obesity.

These data suggest that high salt intake reduces brachial artery endothelial function and switches the mediator of vasodilation in the microcirculation to a non-nitric oxide-dependent mechanism in healthy adults and acute exercise may switch the dilator mechanism back to nitric oxide during high salt diet.