iloprost and acetovanillone

Potassium channels play an important role in the basal tone and dilation of cerebral resistance arterioles in response to many stimuli. However, the effect of prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) on specific potassium channel function remains unknown. The first goal of this study was to determine the influence of PAE on the reactivity of cerebral arterioles to activation of ATP-sensitive potassium (K. We fed Sprague-Dawley dams a liquid diet with or without alcohol (3% EtOH) for the duration of their pregnancy (21 to 23 days). We examined in vivo responses of cerebral arterioles in control and PAE male and female offspring (14 to 16 weeks after birth) to activators of potassium channels (Iloprost [BK channels] and pinacidil [K. We found that PAE impaired dilation of cerebral arterioles in response to activation of potassium channels with iloprost and pinacidil, and this impairment was similar in male and female rats. In addition, treatment with apocynin reversed the impaired vasodilation to iloprost and pinacidil in PAE rats to levels observed in control rats. This effect of apocynin also was similar in male and female rats.. PAE induces dysfunction in the ability of specific potassium channels to dilate cerebral arterioles which appears to be mediated by an increase in oxidative stress. We suggest that these alterations in potassium channel function may contribute to the pathogenesis of cerebral vascular abnormalities and/or behavioral/cognitive deficits observed in fetal alcohol spectrum disorders.

Topics: Adenosine Triphosphate; Animals; Arterioles; Ethanol; Female; Humans; Iloprost; Large-Conductance Calcium-Activated Potassium Channels; Male; Oxidative Stress; Pinacidil; Pregnancy; Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Vasodilation; Vasodilator Agents

Thromboxane A(2) (TXA(2)) upregulates and activates NADPH oxidase (Nox) both of which are associated with cardiovascular disease. The aim of this study, therefore, was to investigate the relationship between thromboxane A(2) synthase (TXAS) status and Nox in human vascular smooth muscle cells (hVSMCs), in particular, whether superoxide (O(2)(▪-)) derived from Nox influences TXAS expression and activity. hVSMCs were incubated with TNFα: (10 ng/ml), TXA(2) mimetic U46619 (100 nM), 8-isoprostane F(2α) (8-IP; 100 nM) and hypoxia. Expression of TXAS was assessed using western blotting and quantitative PCR. The role of Nox1 and Nox4 was studied using apocynin and mRNA silencing. The effect of the thromboxane receptor antagonist picotamide and of iloprost, a prostacyclin (PGI(2)) analogue was also studied. TNF-α, U46619 and 8-IP and hypoxia all augmented TXAS expression as well as TXA(2) formation, effects inhibited by apocynin. Nox-1 (but not Nox4) gene silencing inhibited the increase in TXAS expression and activity. Both picotamide and iloprost inhibited the upregulation of TXAS as well as TXA(2) formation induced by TNF-α, U46619 and 8-isoprostane F(2α) and hypoxia. It is concluded that upregulation of TXA(2) synthase expression and activity in human VSMCs is mediated by an a priori upregulation of Nox1 and represents a self amplifying cascade. The inhibition of this effect with iloprost consolidates that PGI(2) plays a protective anti-oxidative role in the vasculature and that picotamide and like drugs may be effective in reducing the incidence of cardiovascular disease associated with an oxidative aetiology.

Topics: Acetophenones; Gene Silencing; Humans; Iloprost; Muscle, Smooth, Vascular; NADH, NADPH Oxidoreductases; NADPH Oxidase 1; RNA, Small Interfering; Thromboxane-A Synthase; Up-Regulation