scholarly journals Endothelium-Derived Hyperpolarizing Factor and Myoendothelial Coupling: The in vivo Perspective

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kjestine Schmidt ◽  
Cor de Wit

The endothelium controls vascular tone adopting blood flow to tissue needs. It releases chemical mediators [e.g., nitric oxide (NO), prostaglandins (PG)] and exerts appreciable dilation through smooth muscle hyperpolarization, thus termed endothelium-dependent hyperpolarization (EDH). Initially, EDH was attributed to release of a factor, but later it was suggested that smooth muscle hyperpolarization might be derived from radial spread of an initial endothelial hyperpolarization through heterocellular channels coupling these vascular cells. The channels are indeed present and formed by connexins that enrich in gap junctions (GJ). In vitro data suggest that myoendothelial coupling underlies EDH-type dilations as evidenced by blocking experiments as well as simultaneous, merely identical membrane potential changes in endothelial and smooth muscle cells (SMCs), which is indicative of coupling through ohmic resistors. However, connexin-deficient animals do not display any attenuation of EDH-type dilations in vivo, and endothelial and SMCs exhibit distinct and barely superimposable membrane potential changes exerted by different means in vivo. Even if studied in the exact same artery EDH-type dilation exhibits distinct features in vitro and in vivo: in isometrically mounted vessels, it is rather weak and depends on myoendothelial coupling through connexin40 (Cx40), whereas in vivo as well as in vitro under isobaric conditions it is powerful and independent of myoendothelial coupling through Cx40. It is concluded that EDH-type dilations are distinct and a significant dependence on myoendothelial coupling in vitro does not reflect the situation under physiologic conditions in vivo. Myoendothelial coupling may act as a backup mechanism that is uncovered in the absence of the powerful EDH-type response and possibly reflects a situation in a pathophysiologic environment.

2000 ◽  
Vol 279 (2) ◽  
pp. H657-H671 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arjun Vadapalli ◽  
Roland N. Pittman ◽  
Aleksander S. Popel

The problem of diffusion of O2 across the endothelial surface in precapillary vessels and its utilization in the vascular wall remains unresolved. To establish a relationship between precapillary release of O2 and vascular wall consumption, we estimated the intravascular flux of O2 on the basis of published in vivo measurements. To interpret the data, we utilized a diffusion model of the vascular wall and computed possible physiological ranges for O2 consumption. We found that many flux values were not consistent with the diffusion model. We estimated the mitochondrial-based maximum O2 consumption of the vascular wall (Mmt) and a possible contribution to O2 consumption of nitric oxide production by endothelial cells (MNO). Many values of O2 consumption predicted from the diffusion model exceeded Mmt + MNO. In contrast, reported values of O2consumption for endothelial and smooth muscle cell suspensions and vascular strips in vitro do not exceed Mmt. We conjecture that most of the reported values of intravascular O2 flux are overestimated, and the likely source is in the experimental estimates of convective O2 transport at upstream and downstream points of unbranched vascular segments.


1993 ◽  
Vol 3 (8) ◽  
pp. 1435-1441
Author(s):  
L Raij ◽  
P J Shultz

The endothelium-derived relaxing factor nitric oxide (EDRF/NO) is a labile, endogenous vasodilator that is important in the control of systemic vascular tone. This review focuses on the effects of EDRF/NO on glomerular mesangial cells in vitro and on the role of EDRF/NO in mesangial and glomerular physiology and pathophysiology in vivo. It was concluded that EDRF/NO can stimulate increases in cGMP, inhibit mesangial cell contraction, and inhibit growth factor-induced proliferation of mesangial cells in culture. Furthermore, incubation with endotoxin or cytokines stimulates mesangial cells to produce EDRF/NO, via an inducible NO synthase enzyme. Therefore, it is likely that NO could play a role in the inflammatory response within the glomerulus. Finally, recent studies providing evidence that EDRF/NO is functional within the glomerulus in vivo, especially during endotoxemia and inflammation are also reviewed.


1995 ◽  
Vol 88 (2) ◽  
pp. 149-157 ◽  
Author(s):  
Viviane Martin ◽  
Marie-Louise Wiesel ◽  
Anne Albert ◽  
Alain Beretz

1. Hypotension and vascular hyporesponsiveness to vasoconstrictors are observed during endotoxic shock, and are associated with increased production of nitric oxide in the vascular wall. Disseminated intravascular coagulation is another feature of septicaemia. We hypothesized that thrombin generated during disseminated intravascular coagulation might modulate the changes in vascular tone induced by endotoxin. 2. Incubation of rat aortic rings for 4 h with α-thrombin (0.003–3.0 NIH units/ml) did not change their reactivity to noradrenaline. Incubation for 4 h with lipopolysaccharide increased the EC50 for noradrenaline, whereas co-incubation of thrombin (0.5 NIH units/ml) with lipopolysaccharide did not alter this hyporeactivity to noradrenaline. 3. In vivo in rats, lipopolysaccharide caused early (1 h) and late (4–6 h) hyporeactivity to noradrenaline. In rats infused with lipopolysaccharide and heparin (1 U min−1 kg−1, 0.4 ml/h) or hirudin (2.2 mg ml−1 kg−1, 0.8 ml/h), vasopressor responses to noradrenaline were not different from those after infusion of lipopolysaccharide alone. Aortic rings taken from rats receiving both anticoagulant treatment and lipopolysaccharide had the same sensitivity to noradrenaline as those obtained from rats receiving lipopolysaccharide alone. 4. Our results suggest that, in vivo, disseminated intravascular coagulation does not modify the early and late effects of lipopolysaccharide on arterial pressure and that, in vitro, thrombin neither induces hyporeactivity to noradrenaline nor modifies lipopolysaccharide-induced hyporeactivity. We propose that thrombin generated during disseminated intravascular coagulation in rats does not play a major role in the alterations of vascular tone observed during endotoxic shock.


2005 ◽  
Vol 288 (5) ◽  
pp. L868-L873 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bill T. Ameredes ◽  
Jigme M. Sethi ◽  
He-Liang Liu ◽  
Augustine M. K. Choi ◽  
William J. Calhoun

Interleukin (IL)-10 is an anti-inflammatory cytokine implicated in the regulation of airway inflammation in asthma. Among other activities, IL-10 suppresses production of nitric oxide (NO); consequently, its absence may permit increased NO production, which can affect airway smooth muscle contractility. Therefore, we investigated airway reactivity (AR) in response to methacholine (MCh) in IL-10 knockout (−/−) mice compared with wild-type C57BL/6 (C57) mice, in which airway NO production was measured as exhaled NO (ENO), and NO production was altered with administration of either NO synthase (NOS)-specific inhibitors or recombinant murine (rm)IL-10. AR, measured as enhanced pause in vivo, and tracheal ring tension in vitro were lower in IL-10−/− mice by 25–50%, which was associated with elevated ENO levels (13 vs. 7 ppb). Administration of NOS inhibitors NG-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester (8 mg/kg ip) or l- N6-(1-iminoethyl)-lysine (3 mg/kg ip) to IL-10−/− mice decreased ENO by an average of 50%, which was associated with increased AR, to levels similar to C57 mice. ENO in IL-10−/− mice decreased in a dose-dependent fashion in response to administered rmIL-10, to levels similar to C57 mice (7 ppb), which was associated with a 30% increment in AR. Thus increased NO production in the absence of IL-10, decreased AR, which was reversed with inhibition of NO, either by inhibition of NOS, or with reconstitution of IL-10. These findings suggest that airway NO production can modulate airway smooth muscle contractility, resulting in airway hyporesponsiveness when IL-10 is absent.


1986 ◽  
Vol 250 (1) ◽  
pp. H87-H95 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. J. Hwa ◽  
J. A. Bevan

Rabbit ear resistance arteries are vessels with three to six layers of smooth muscle cells and an unstretched lumen diameter of 75-150 micron. Ring segments of these arteries, in response to mechanical stretch in vitro, developed a maintained tonic contraction. The stretch-dependent contraction achieved a plateau within 10-30 min. Smooth muscle relaxants, such as NaNO2 and papaverine, substitution of extracellular Ca2+ by subthreshold Ca2+ (25 microM), or exposure to the Ca2+ influx antagonist Mn2+ abolished the stretch-dependent tone. The extent of the tone was dependent on the level of the applied stretch and the extracellular Ca2+ concentration ( [Ca2+]o). The maximal tone developed at optimal stretch, and [Ca2+]o in the bath solution was 18.1 +/- 4.6% of the maximal contraction of the vessel to histamine. This level of tone is comparable to neurogenic tone developed in response to nerve stimulation within the physiological frequency range. The stretch-dependent tone is considered probably myogenic in origin, since it was present in arterial segments that had been chronically denervated by surgical sympathectomy, mechanically deprived of the endothelium, and multireceptor blocked (phenoxybenzamine, 10(-6) M). Our findings suggest first that the stretch-dependent tone is myogenic and may be similar to basal vascular tone arising from the stretch of arterial pressure and its changes in vivo. Second, the magnitude of myogenic tone is a function of the applied stretch and the [Ca2+]o. Finally, myogenic tone is important in the physiological regulation of arterial tone in the rabbit ear resistance arteries.


1991 ◽  
Vol 71 (2) ◽  
pp. 735-741 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. R. Fineman ◽  
M. R. Crowley ◽  
M. A. Heymann ◽  
S. J. Soifer

In vitro evidence suggests that resting pulmonary vascular tone and endothelium-dependent pulmonary vasodilation are mediated by changes in vascular smooth muscle concentrations of guanosine 3′,5′-cyclic monophosphate (cGMP). We investigated this hypothesis in vivo in 19 mechanically ventilated intact lambs by determining the hemodynamic effects of methylene blue (a guanylate cyclase inhibitor) and then by comparing the hemodynamic response to five vasodilators during pulmonary hypertension induced by the infusion of U-46619 (a thromboxane A2 mimic) or methylene blue. Methylene blue caused a significant time-dependent increase in pulmonary arterial pressure. During U-46619 infusions, acetylcholine, ATP-MgCl2, sodium nitroprusside, isoproterenol, and 8-bromo-cGMP decreased pulmonary arterial pressure. During methylene blue infusions, the decreases in pulmonary arterial pressure caused by acetylcholine and ATP-MgCl2 (endothelium-dependent vasodilators) and sodium nitroprusside (an endothelium-independent guanylate cyclase-dependent vasodilator) were attenuated by greater than 50%. The decreases in pulmonary arterial pressure caused by isoproterenol and 8-bromo-cGMP (endothelium-independent vasodilators) were unchanged. This study in intact lambs supports the in vitro evidence that changes in vascular smooth muscle cell concentrations of cGMP in part mediate resting pulmonary vascular tone and endothelium-dependent pulmonary vasodilation.


1996 ◽  
Vol 91 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy Ryan ◽  
Garry Jennings ◽  
Frank Dudley ◽  
Jaye Chin-Dusting

1. Cirrhosis is often complicated by disturbances in the systemic circulation. We have previously demonstrated decreased vascular responses to vasoconstrictors in forearm resistance arteries in subjects with alcoholic cirrhosis. In the current study we investigate the role of the potent endogenous vasodilator nitric oxide in the peripheral circulation of these patients. 2. Ten patients with alcoholic cirrhosis (Pugh grade A) and 10 age-matched control subjects were studied. The effect of blockade of nitric oxide synthesis was studied both in vivo in forearm resistance arteries using forearm venous occlusion plethysmography and in vitro in veins isolated from the forearm. The role of endothelium-derived nitric oxide was studied in vivo using the endothelium-dependent vasodilator acetylcholine. 3. Mean arterial pressure and forearm basal flow in vivo were similar in the two groups. The constrictor response (percentage decrease in forearm blood flow) to noradrenaline (100 ng/min) was 26% smaller in patients with cirrhosis (31.65 ± 2.64%) than in control subjects (42.75 ± 3.87%, P = 0.037). Constrictor responses to the nitric oxide synthase inhibitor NG-monomethyl-l-arginine were not different in the two groups. Dilator responses to acetylcholine were significantly attenuated in cirrhotic patients compared with control subjects. 4. To investigate the role of smooth muscle-derived nitric oxide in vitro, all veins were stripped of their endothelium. Responses to noradrenaline were significantly diminished in veins isolated from patients with cirrhosis compared with control subjects. Incubation with the nitric oxide synthase inhibitor Nω-nitro-l-arginine had no effect on responses to noradrenaline in veins from control subjects but significantly enhanced the maximal response to noradrenaline by 23.95% (range 3.77–100%, P = 0.043) in veins from patients with cirrhosis. 5. Responses to noradrenaline were attenuated in vivo in forearm resistance arteries in patients with alcoholic cirrhosis. This impairment was also apparent in forearm isolated veins, stripped of the endothelium. Our data exclude a major role for endothelium-derived nitric oxide but highlight a possible role for smooth muscle-derived nitric oxide.


1991 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 475 ◽  
Author(s):  
WA Walters ◽  
AL Boura

Using an in vitro placental lobule perfusion technique, the human fetal placental vasculature has been found to respond vigorously with high sensitivity to various vasoconstrictor substances, including angiotensin II, endothelins 1 and 3, prostaglandins F2 alpha, E2 and D2 and the thromboxane A2 agonist U46619. Thromboxane A2 receptors mediating vasoconstriction have been characterized in fetal placental vessels and appear to be identical to those on human platelets and pulmonary blood vessels. Although the isolated fetal placental vessels are largely unresponsive to exogenous vasodilatory stimuli, when preconstricted they respond by vasodilatation to several vasodilator substances, including arachidonate, prostacyclin, prostaglandin E1, theophylline and nitroglycerine. The resistance offered to flow in vitro by the villous vasculature is therefore low, as it is in vivo. Both intrinsic and extrinsic mechanisms probably operate to cause relaxation of the vascular smooth muscle with the vasodilatory effects of locally released autacoids dominating the effects of those having vasoconstrictor actions.


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