COX-2 expression increases during DOCA-salt hypertension, and mediates production of factors that enhance rat aortic contractility in response to norepinephrine. Our data also suggest a role for increased oxidative stress, which is at least in part dependent on enhanced COX-2 expression, in the mechanism(s) of enhanced aortic contractility in response to norepinephrine during DOCA-salt hypertension.

Development of vascular complications in diabetes has been linked to the quality of glucose regulation and characterized by endothelial dysfunction. The exact mechanism behind vascular complications in diabetes is poorly understood. However, alteration of nitric oxide (NO) biosynthesis or bioactivity is strongly implicated and the mechanism behind such alterations is still a subject for research investigations. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that glucoseinduced attenuation of vascular relaxation involves protein kinase C (PKC)-linked generation of free radicals. Vascular relaxation to acetylcholine (ACh; 10 −9 -10 −5 M), isoproterenol (10 −9 -10 −5 M), or NO donor, sodium nitropruside (SNP; 10 −9 -10 −6 M) was determined in phenylephrine (PE, 10 −7 M) pre-constricted aortic rings from Sprague-Dawley rats in the presence or absence of 30 mM glucose (30 min), L-nitro-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME; 10 −4 M for 15 min), a NO synthase inhibitor, or xanthine (10 −5 M), a free radical generator. ACh dose-dependently caused relaxation that was attenuated by L-NAME, glucose, or xanthine. Pre-incubation (15 min) of the rings with vitamin C (10 −4 M), an antioxidant or calphostin C (10 −6 M), a PKC inhibitor, restored the ACh responses. However, high glucose had no significant effects on SNP or isoproterenolinduced relaxation. ACh-induced NO production by aortic ring was significantly reduced by glucose or xanthine. The reduced NO production was restored by pretreatment with vitamin C or calphostin C in the presence of glucose, but not xanthine. These data demonstrate that oxidants or PKC contribute to glucose-induced attenuation of vasorelaxation which could be mediated via impaired endothelial NO production and bioavailability. Thus, pathogenesis of glucose-induced vasculopathy involves PKC-coupled generation of oxygen free radicals which inhibit NO production and selectively inhibit NO-dependent relaxation.

We studied the action of β-adrenergic agonists on Japanese quail erythrocyte carbonic anhydrase (CA) in vitro. Earlier we had reported that epinephrine increased CA activity by 14%; the present study focused on an attempt to increase the size of this response. Washed erythrocytes from reserpine-treated (1 mg/kg daily i.m. for 3 days) and control birds were incubated for 40 min in the presence of isoproterenol 10^–6 mol/l. The activity of CA expressed as Wilbur-Anderson units/mg hemoglobin was increased by as much as 42% in reserpine-treated birds over the control depending on the conditions. Addition of 10^–5 mol/l of the β-adrenergic antagonist propranolol inhibited the isoproterenol-induced effect in nonreserpinized birds. We conclude that pretreatment with reserpine, which was accompanied by a fall in plasma catecholamine levels, particularly epinephrine levels, enhanced the activation of CA by isoproterenol.

In our study of IOP-lowering agents, we have synthesized several bicyclic analogs of 1-benzyloctahydroisoquinoline. The target molecules were synthesized in an eleven-step process. Structures were proved through spectrometry, elemental analysis and, in selected cases, high resolution mass spectrometry. The final products were secondary or tertiary amines containing a 1-benzyl moiety substituted at the p-position with a methoxy, methyl or chloro group. All target molecules were analyzed in 1% solution in distilled water in normotensive rabbits. After topical administration, IOP was monitored in both eyes for up to seven hours. The 1-p-methoxybenzyl molecule 2 was the most active, and caused a maximal IOP drop of 8.8 +/- 1.9 (n = 7) mm Hg in the ipsilateral eye at 4 hours post-administration, with only partial recovery at seven hours. All other compounds tested either showed very weak activity (3-6) or were inactive (1). All compounds produced a contralateral effect, and 5 induced rebound ocular hypertension. We conclude that selected tertiary bicyclic 1-p-methoxybenzyl-octahydroisoquinolines, particularly N-methylated structures, exhibit a significant IOP-lowering effect in normotensive rabbits.