. Ouabain-induced hypertension is accompanied by increases in endothelial vasodilator factors. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 283: H2110-H2118, 2002. First published July 11, 2002 10.1152/ajpheart.00454.2002The involvement of nitric oxide (NO), prostaglandins, and calcium-dependent potassium channel (K Ca) activators on the negative modulation of phenylephrine-induced contractions was evaluated on the isolated aorta and caudal (CAU) artery obtained from rats treated with ouabain for 5 wk to induce hypertension. In ouabain-treated rats, the reactivity to phenylephrine was reduced in the endothelium-intact aorta but not the CAU segments. Endothelial modulation of phenylephrine contraction, as demonstrated by endothelium removal, NO synthase (NOS) inhibition with N -nitro-L-arginine methyl ester and aminoguanidine, as well as K Ca inhibition with tetraethylammonium, was more pronounced in segments from ouabain-treated animals, and here greater effects were seen in the aorta than in CAU. An increased expression of endothelial NOS and neuronal NOS was seen in the aorta after ouabain treatment. In CAU, only endothelial NOS was detected and ouabain treatment did not alter its expression. These results suggest that ouabain-induced hypertension is accompanied by increased NO release derived from endothelial NOS and neuronal NOS and increased release of an endothelial hyperpolarizing factor that presumably opens K Ca, all of which contribute to the increased negative modulation of the phenylephrine contraction. nitric oxide; endothelial-dependent hyperpolarizing factor; phenylephrine THE PLASMA LEVELS of an endogenous circulating Na ϩ -K ϩ -ATPase inhibitor, characterized as ouabain or a closely related compound (17,36), are increased in several animal models of hypertension (19,39), as well as in human essential hypertension (20). Several studies have shown that chronic administration of ouabain induces hypertension, an effect that seems to be linked to the inhibition of the Na ϩ -K ϩ -ATPase (10,22,23,45,54), although sodium pump inhibition seems not to be the exclusive mechanism of the ouabain-hypertensive effect (26,31,32,52). This enzyme is found in most eukaryotic cells and is the main system involved in the maintenance of sodium homeostasis and the membrane potential, essential factors for controlling vascular tone and blood pressure. It has been suggested that alterations in the activity of the sodium pump might be involved in the genesis or maintenance of hypertensive states (3, 33). Additionally, the hypertension induced by ouabain treatment has been associated with actions in the central nervous system that increase sympathetic activity by activation of the central renin-angiotensin system and impair the arterial baroreceptor reflex (22, 23) and associated with actions in the periphery that produce changes in responsiveness to contractile agents (10,26,45).In some isolated vascular preparations, acutely administered ouabain, at nanomolar concentrations, can enhance the actions of phenylephrine (43). Higher mi...

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The subcellular distribution of prolyl endopeptidase, and of cation-sensitive neutral endopeptidase, two enzymes actively metabolizing many neuropeptides, was determined in homogenates of rabbit brain. The subcellular distribution of both enzymes was more similar to lactate dehydrogenase, a cytoplasmic enzyme marker, than to choline acetyltransferase, a synaptosomal marker. Only 35% of the activity of these two neutral endopeptidases was found in the crude mitochondrial fraction (P2), the bulk of the remaining activity being associated with the high-speed supernatant. Prolyl endopeptidase and cation-sensitive neutral endopeptidase thus can be regarded as mainly cytoplasmic enzymes in the rabbit brain.

1. The turnover of synaptosomal (vesicular-cytoplasmic) and stable-bound (vesicular) acetylcholine isolated from cortical tissue was investigated after the administration, under local anaesthesia, of [N-Me-(3)H]choline into the lateral ventricles of guinea pigs. 2. Radioactive acetylcholine and choline present in acid extracts of subcellular fractions were separated by a combination of liquid and column ion-exchange and thin-layer chromatography. 3. The specific radioactivity and pattern of labelling of acetylcholine present in a fraction of monodisperse synaptic vesicles was found to be essentially the same as that of synaptosomal acetylcholine. 4. The specific radioactivity of stable-bound acetylcholine present in partially disrupted synaptosomes (fraction H) at short times (10-20min) after the injection of [N-Me-(3)H]choline was very variable and inversely related to the yield of acetylcholine in that fraction. 5. Evidence was found for the existence of two small, but highly labelled pools of acetylcholine, one which could be isolated in fraction H and the other which was lost when synaptosomes, after isolation by gradient centrifugation, were left at 0 degrees C or pelleted. 6. It is concluded that the results are best explained by metabolic differences among the nerve-ending compartments (thought to be vesicles) which contain stable-bound acetylcholine. Computer simulation of our experiments supports this possibility and suggests that the highly labelled pool in fraction H is present in vesicles close to the external membrane.

The present study was designed to evaluate the differences in the coronary vasodilator actions of serotonin (5-HT) in isolated heart obtained from naive or castrated male and female rats that were treated with either estrogen or testosterone. Hearts from 12 groups of rats were used: male and female naive animals, castrated, castrated and treated with 17ß-estradiol (0.5 µg kg -1 day -1 ) for 7 or 30 days, and castrated and treated with testosterone (0.5 mg kg -1 day -1 ) for 7 or 30 days. After treatment, the vascular reactivity of the coronary bed was evaluated. Baseline coronary perfusion pressure (CPP) was determined and dose-response curves to 5-HT were generated. Baseline CPP differed between male (70 ± 6 mmHg, N = 10) and female (115 ± 6 mmHg, N = 12) naive rats. Maximal 5-HT-induced coronary vasodilation was higher (P<0.05) in naive female than in naive male rats. In both sexes, 5-HT produced endothelium-dependent coronary vasodilation. After castration, there was no significant difference in baseline CPP between hearts obtained from male and female rats (75 ± 7 mmHg, N = 8, and 83 ± 5 mmHg, N = 8, respectively). Castration reduced the 5-HT-induced maximal vasodilation in female and male rats (P<0.05). Estrogen treatment of castrated female rats restored (P<0.05) the vascular reactivity. In castrated male rats, 30 days of estrogen treatment increased (P<0.05) the responsiveness to 5-HT. The endothelium-dependent coronary vasodilator actions of 5-HT are greater in female rats and are modulated by estrogen. A knowledge of the mechanism of action of estrogen on coronary arteries could aid in the development of new therapeutic strategies and potentially decrease the incidence of cardiovascular disease in both sexes.