Abstract-Increased expression of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3-kinase) mediates elevated tone in the aorta from hypertensive deoxycorticosterone acetate (DOCA)-salt rats. In this article, we hypothesized that (1) alterations observed with respect to PI3-kinase observed in the aorta would also occur in mesenteric resistance arteries responsible for determining total peripheral resistance (TPR) and (2) p110␦ activity was increased and localized to vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs), and was responsible for the increase in spontaneous tone in aortae from DOCA-salt rats. Mesenteric resistance arteries and aorta were isolated from DOCA-salt (190Ϯ3 mm Hg) and sham (121Ϯ2 mm Hg) rats. Myograph experiments revealed LY294002 (20 mol/L), a PI3-kinase inhibitor, significantly decreased tone in mesenteric resistance arteries from DOCA-salt rats as compared with sham (Ϫ49Ϯ12 mg versus Ϫ10Ϯ7 mg). Western analyses of resistance artery protein homogenate revealed p85␣ and p110␦ subunit protein, with significantly elevated levels of p110␦ protein in the DOCA-salt compared with sham rats (0.30Ϯ0.07 versus 0.16Ϯ0.04% smooth muscle alpha-actin arbitrary units). Immunohistochemistry revealed p110␦-specific staining in VSMCs, with more intense staining in aortae from DOCA-salt rats. Compared with aortae from sham, p110␦-associated PI3-kinase activity was increased in DOCA-salt (158% of sham) and likely responsible for spontaneous tone because the p110␦ specific inhibitor IC87114 decreased spontaneous tone in a concentration-dependent manner. Collectively, these data further implicate the p110␦ isoform of PI3-kinase in arterial hyperresponsiveness in hypertension at the level of both large and small arteries. Key Words: arteries Ⅲ hypertension, mineralocorticoid P I3-kinase is a signaling enzyme that plays key roles in cellular growth, remodeling, and apoptosis and is implicated in modulating vascular contraction. 1-9 PI3-kinase possesses both lipid and protein kinase activity, giving it the ability to be involved with a great number of signaling pathways. Cloning of the catalytic subunits of PI3-kinase led to organizing the multigene family into 3 main classes based on their substrate specificity, sequence homology, and regulation. Class I PI3-kinases are the most extensively investigated class and contain two subunits, one of which plays primarily a regulatory/adaptor role (p85␣, , p55␥, and p101) and the other that maintains the catalytic role of the enzyme (p110␣, , ␦, and ␥). [1][2][3][4][5][6] Spontaneous tone (non-agonist-induced contraction) is a phenomenon that is observed in both experimental and clinical forms of hypertension. Spontaneous tone has been observed in femoral arteries from renal hypertensive rats, deoxycorticosterone acetate (DOCA)-salt hypertensive rats, rats genetically predisposed to hypertension, essential hypertensive patients, and women with preeclampsia. 7,10 -12 Spontaneous tone development in the condition of hypertension leads to "spontaneous" narrowing of the arteries that can further increase/p...