Studies in vitro have underestimated the importance of cGMP-dependent protein kinase (PKG) in the modulation of vascular smooth muscle cell (SMC) proliferation and apoptosis in vivo. This is attributable, in part, to a rapid decline in PKG levels as vascular SMC are passaged in culture. We used a recombinant adenovirus encoding PKG (Ad.PKG) to augment kinase activity in cultured rat pulmonary artery SMC (RPaSMC). Incubation of Ad.PKG-infected RPaSMC (multiplicity of infection ‫؍‬ 200) with 8-Br-cGMP decreased serum-stimulated DNA synthesis by 85% and cell proliferation at day 5 by 74%. The effect of 8-Br-cGMP on DNA synthesis in Ad.PKG-infected RPaSMC was blocked by KT5823 (PKG inhibitor), but not by KT5720 (cAMP-dependent protein kinase inhibitor). A nitric oxide (NO) donor compound, S-nitrosoglutathione, at concentrations as low as 100 nM, inhibited DNA synthesis in Ad.PKG-infected RPaSMC, but not in uninfected cells or in cells infected with a control adenovirus. In addition, 8-Br-cGMP and S-nitrosoglutathione induced apoptosis in serum-deprived RPaSMC infected with Ad.PKG, but not in uninfected cells or in cells infected with a control adenovirus. These results demonstrate that modulation of PKG levels in vascular SMC can alter the sensitivity of these cells to NO and cGMP. Moreover, these observations suggest an important role for PKG in the regulation of vascular SMC proliferation and apoptosis by NO and cGMP.The endothelium plays a pivotal role in the regulation of vascular tone, the prevention of thrombosis, and the modulation of adhesive interactions between inflammatory cells and the vessel wall. The endothelium modulates the functions of the subjacent vascular smooth muscle, in part, by producing active effector molecules, including angiotensin II, heparinoids, and nitric oxide (NO) 1 (1, 2). Endothelial dysfunction is a shared process in the pathogenesis of vascular disorders, including atherosclerosis, neointima formation after angioplasty, and vascular remodeling associated with pulmonary or systemic hypertension (3). This dysfunction is associated with an alteration of the balance between cell growth and apoptosis and with dysregulation of cell-cell as well as cell-matrix interactions (1).In addition to its role as an endothelium-derived relaxing factor (4), NO regulates platelet adhesion and aggregation (5, 6), leukocyte recruitment and activation (7), and cytokine-induced endothelial cell activation (8) as well as vascular smooth muscle cell (SMC) apoptosis (9 -11), proliferation (12-14), and migration (15,16). NO acts, in part, by stimulating soluble guanylate cyclase to produce the intracellular second messenger cGMP (17). cGMP activates cGMP-dependent protein kinase (PKG), leading to many of the effects of NO (18). The two isoforms of PKG detected in vascular smooth muscle (I␣ and I␤) share substrate-binding/catalytic domains, but differ in cGMP affinity (19,20).The effects of NO on vascular SMC proliferation have been extensively investigated. Although several studies established that NO dec...

Nitric oxide stimulates soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) to convert GTP to the intracellular second messenger cGMP. In rat pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells, sGC is an obligate heterodimer composed of alpha1 and beta1 subunits. We investigated the effect of NO donor compounds on sGC subunit gene expression in rat pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells. Sodium nitroprusside and S-nitroso-glutathione decreased sGC subunit mRNA and protein levels, as well as sGC enzyme activity. 1H-[1,2,4]oxadiazolo[4,3-a]quinoxalin-1-one, an sGC inhibitor, blocked the effect of sodium nitroprusside on sGC subunit gene expression, whereas 8-bromo cGMP decreased subunit mRNA levels, demonstrating that NO-mediated decrease in sGC subunit mRNA levels is cGMP-dependent. sGC subunit mRNA levels decreased more rapidly in rat pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells exposed to NO than in cells exposed to actinomycin D, suggesting that NO decreases sGC subunit mRNA stability. Actinomycin D and cycloheximide blocked the ability of NO to decrease sGC subunit mRNA levels. These results demonstrate that NO decreases sGC subunit mRNA stability via a transcription- and translation-dependent mechanism.

Increased nitric oxide (NO) production plays a critical role in the mammalian pulmonary vascular adaptation to extrauterine life. NO activates soluble guanylate cyclase, increasing intracellular cGMP concentrations, thereby inducing relaxation of vascular smooth muscle. cGMP is inactivated by cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterases (PDEs). One PDE isozyme, PDE5, specifically hydrolyzes cGMP, is abundant in lung tissues, and modifies the pulmonary vasodilatory response to exogenous NO. To investigate the regulation of PDE5 gene expression during pulmonary development, PDE5 mRNA levels, as well as cGMP-metabolizing PDE enzyme activity, were measured in the lungs of perinatal and adult rats. RNA blot hybridization revealed that PDE5 mRNA was detectable in fetal lung tissue as early as 18.5 d of the 22-d term gestation and reached maximal levels in neonatal lungs. mRNA levels in adult rat lungs were 3-4-fold less than the levels measured in lungs of 1- and 8-d-old rats. Pulmonary cGMP hydrolytic activity in 1-d-old animals was 30-fold greater than the cGMP hydrolytic activity of adult rat lungs. Zaprinast, a specific PDE5 antagonist, inhibited 52 and 56% of cGMP hydrolytic activity in lungs of 1- and 8-d-old rats, respectively, but only 18% of the activity in adult lungs. In situ hybridization revealed that PDE5 mRNA transcripts were present in the vascular smooth muscle cells of neonatal and adult lungs. PDE5 mRNA was also detected in the alveolar walls of neonatal rat lungs. These results demonstrate that the gene encoding PDE5 is abundantly expressed in the lungs of perinatal rats, and is available to participate in the mammalian pulmonary vascular transition to extrauterine life. Extravascular PDE5 gene expression in neonatal lungs suggests a potentially important nonvascular role for this enzyme during pulmonary development.

Nitric oxide (NO) has an important role in the pulmonary vasodilatation associated with the transition from fetal to neonatal life. NO activates pulmonary soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC), an obligate heterodimer composed of alpha1- and beta1-subunits, increasing synthesis of guanosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cGMP) and leading to vasodilation. In this study, regulation of sGC subunit expression during pulmonary development was examined. RNA blot hybridization revealed abundant alpha1- and beta1-subunit mRNA in lungs of late-gestation fetal and neonatal Sprague-Dawley rats, with markedly reduced levels detected in adult lungs. Pulmonary sGC enzyme activity in the presence of 1 mM sodium nitroprusside, a NO-donor compound, was approximately sevenfold greater in 1- and 8-day-old rats than in adult rats (P < 0.03). With the use of immunoblot techniques, pulmonary alpha1-subunit concentrations closely correlated with mRNA levels. With in situ hybridization, alpha1- and beta1-subunit mRNAs were readily detected in pulmonary vascular and bronchial smooth muscle cells as well as alveolar and serosal epithelial cells in lungs of 1-day-old rats. In adult lungs, sGC subunit mRNAs were present at low levels and were found nearly exclusively in bronchial and vascular smooth muscle cells. These results demonstrate that abundant pulmonary sGC is available to respond to the increased NO produced during the perinatal period. High-level expression of sGC subunit genes outside the vasculature of lungs of 1-day-old rats suggests an important role for NO-cGMP signal transduction in the perinatal regulation of pulmonary epithelial function and bronchial tone.