Introduction: Age and hypertension are two major determinants of arterial stiffness, as well as endothelial dysfunction. The present study was designed to test whether a chronic reduction of endogenous nitric oxide (NO) produces arterial stiffening close to that observed in old spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR), and also to study the effect of an acute or a chronic decrease in blood pressure (BP) on aortic distensibility. Methods: BP, aortic stiffness, endothelial dysfunction and remodelling were measured in male adult (20-week-old) SHR, in adult SHR treated with a nonspecific NO synthase inhibitor L-NAME (SHR/L-NAME) for 2 weeks, in adult SHR/L-NAME cotreated with perindopril (1 mg/kg/day) and in old SHR (55-week-old). Age-matched WKY were used as a normotensive group. Results: Aortic endothelial dysfunction, remodelling and stiffening appeared in old SHR. Reduction of NO production in adult SHR caused similar alterations. Acute decreases in BP in SHR/L-NAME did not improve isobaric aortic distensibility but a chronic reduction of BP prevented endothelial dysfunction, aortic remodelling and aortic wall stiffening. Conclusion: NO reduction in adult SHR induces aortic alterations similar to those observed during aging, which supports the major role of NO in the development of arterial stiffening. These aortic alterations can be prevented by angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor treatment.

Generous donors: The dithioperoxyanhydrides (CH3 COS)2 , (PhCOS)2 , CH3 COSSCO2 Me and PhCOSSCO2 Me act as thiol-activated hydrogen sulfide donors in aqueous buffer solution. The most efficient donor (CH3 COS)2 can induce a biological response in cells, and advantageously replace hydrogen sulfide in ex vivo vascular studies.

Gomez E, Schwendemann C, Roger S, Simonet S, Paysant J, Courchay C, Verbeuren TJ, Félétou M. Aging and prostacyclin responses in aorta and platelets from WKY and SHR rats. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 295: H2198 -H2211, 2008. First published September 26, 2008 doi:10.1152/ajpheart.00507.2008.-In spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) aorta, prostacyclin is an endotheliumderived contracting factor contributing to the endothelial dysfunction. This study was designed to determine whether the impairment of the prostacyclin response is influenced by aging and whether such a dysfunction is observed in platelets. Isometric tension was measured in aortic rings, and aggregation was studied in platelet-rich plasma taken from 3-, 6-, and 15-mo-old Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKY) and SHR. In aorta from 3-and 6-mo-old WKY, prostacyclin and beraprost [prostacyclin receptor (IP) agonists] produced relaxations that were enhanced by Triplion (thromboxane-prostanoid receptor antagonist). In 15-mo-old WKY, the relaxations to beraprost were maintained, but not those to prostacyclin. In SHR aorta, prostacyclin or beraprost produced no or minor relaxations, which, in younger SHR, were enhanced by Triplion. In both strains, the relaxations were inhibited by CAY-10441 (IP receptor antagonist). The relaxations to forskolin and isoproterenol were reduced with aging. When compared with those of WKY, the relaxations to isoproterenol were reduced in 3-but not in 6-or 15-mo-old SHR, whereas those to forskolin were consistently diminished at any given age. Whatever the age, prostacyclin and beraprost produced CAY-10441-sensitive inhibitions of ADPinduced platelet aggregation. Both agonists were more potent in SHR than in WKY. Therefore, in platelets from WKY and SHR, the IP receptor-dependent antiaggregant response is functional and maintained during aging. In aorta from WKY those responses are reduced by aging and, in SHR, are already compromised at 3 mo. This dysfunction of the IP receptor is only partially explained by a general dysfunction of the adenylate cyclase pathway. smooth muscle; prostacyclin receptor; endothelium-derived contracting factors; endothelial dysfunction; spontaneously hypertensive rats; Wistar-Kyoto rats ENDOTHELIAL DYSFUNCTION IS a generic term that encompasses many different disorders (15). In the genetic model of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR), the endothelial dysfunction is attributed to the release of endothelium-derived contracting factors (EDCF) that counterbalances the effect of nitric oxide (NO) with no or minor alteration in the production of the latter (35). In response to acetylcholine, the endothelium-dependent contraction involves the production of reactive oxygen species, the activation of cyclooxygenase-1, the diffusion of EDCF, and the subsequent stimulation of thromboxane-prostanoid (TP) receptors on vascular smooth muscle. Since inhibitors of thromboxane synthase do not affect the endothelium-dependent contraction to acetylcholine, thromboxane A 2 is not the EDCF released by the muscarinic agonist ...

This is the first study showing that chronic treatment with an iNOS inhibitor, L-NIL, limits progression of preexisting atherosclerosis in hypercholesterolemic rabbits. Increased intimal collagen accumulation may participate in iNOS-induced atherosclerosis progression.

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