leukotriene-b4 and Hypertension

Leukotrienes are potent inflammatory mediators synthesized locally within the cardiovascular system through the 5-lipoxygenase pathway of arachidonic acid metabolism. The leukotrienes, consisting of dihydroxy leukotriene LTB4 and the cysteinyl leukotrienes LTC4, LTD4 and LTE4, act by targeting cell surface receptors expressed on inflammatory cells and on structural cells of vessel walls. LTB, induces leukocyte activation and chemotaxis via high- and low-affinity receptor subtypes (BLT1 and BLT2), respectively. Recently, BLT, receptors were found on human vascular smooth muscle cells, inducing their migration and proliferation. Cysteinyl leukotrienes are vasoconstrictors and induce endothelium-dependent vascular responses through the CysLT, and CysLT2 receptor subtypes. There is also pharmacological evidence for the existence of further CysLT receptor subtypes. Taken together, experimental and genetic studies suggest a major role of leukotrienes in atherosclerosis and in its ischemic complications such as acute coronary syndromes and stroke. Furthermore, the effects on vascular smooth muscle cells suggest a role in the vascular remodeling observed after coronary angioplasty, as well as in aortic aneurysm. Further experimental and clinical studies are needed to determine the potential of therapeutic strategies targeting the leukotriene pathway in cardiovascular disease.

Topics: Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary; Animals; Aortic Aneurysm; Arachidonic Acid; Atherosclerosis; Cardiovascular Diseases; Cell Movement; Coronary Restenosis; Disease Models, Animal; Guinea Pigs; Humans; Hypertension; Leukotriene Antagonists; Leukotriene B4; Leukotriene C4; Leukotriene D4; Leukotriene E4; Leukotrienes; Mice; Muscle, Smooth, Vascular; Rats; Receptors, Leukotriene; Stroke

Topics: Adult; Aged; Aging; Alcoholism; Amino Acids; Anesthetics, Local; Animals; Anti-Infective Agents; Anti-Inflammatory Agents; Aqueous Humor; Autonomic Nervous System; Biological Transport, Active; Brain Chemistry; Cardiac Glycosides; Catecholamines; Cell Differentiation; Central Nervous System; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1; Diabetic Retinopathy; Epidermal Growth Factor; Eye; Fibrinolysis; Glaucoma; Granuloma; Graves Disease; Hallucinogens; Humans; Hypertension; Immunity, Cellular; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Leukotriene B4; Metabolism, Inborn Errors; Multiple Sclerosis; Muscle Relaxation; Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; Oxygen; Oxygen Consumption; Pigment Epithelium of Eye; Pineal Gland; Prostaglandin Antagonists; Prostaglandins; Psychotropic Drugs; Retina; Retinal Degeneration; Serotonin; Smoking; SRS-A; Stress, Physiological; Water-Electrolyte Balance

Topics: Animals; Arachidonic Acids; Arteriosclerosis; Blood Platelets; Diabetes Mellitus; Glucocorticoids; Humans; Hypertension; Leukotriene B4; Lipoxygenase; Membrane Lipids; Organ Specificity; Phospholipases; Plants; Prostaglandin-Endoperoxide Synthases; Prostaglandins; SRS-A; Thrombosis; Thromboxanes

Topics: Adolescent; Alprostadil; Animals; Arachidonic Acids; Blood Pressure; Cardiovascular Diseases; Cardiovascular Physiological Phenomena; Dinoprost; Dinoprostone; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Epoprostenol; Hemodynamics; Humans; Hypertension; Leukotriene B4; Prostaglandin-Endoperoxide Synthases; Prostaglandins E; Prostaglandins F; Rats; Renal Circulation; SRS-A; Stress, Psychological; Thromboxanes

Evidence indicates an association between hypertension and chronic systemic inflammation in both human hypertension and experimental animal models. Previous studies in the spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) support a role for leukotriene B. Accumulating evidence indicates an association between hypertension and chronic systemic inflammation in both human hypertension and experimental animal models. Previous studies in the spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) support a role for leukotriene B

Topics: Animals; Arterial Pressure; Baroreflex; Benzopyrans; Carboxylic Acids; Hypertension; Inflammation; Leukotriene B4; Macrophages; Male; Rats; Rats, Inbred SHR; Rats, Inbred WKY; Receptors, Leukotriene B4

Whereas circulating levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) have been associated with, for example, arterial stiffness, subclinical atherosclerosis and metabolic syndrome, other inflammatory biomarkers with potential interest for these conditions may not be measurable systemically. The predictive value of salivary biomarkers in these contexts has remained largely unexplored. The aim of the present study was to establish the association of different salivary biomarkers of inflammation with subclinical cardiovascular disease.. Two hundred and fifty-nine individuals were included in the study. Saliva and plasma samples were collected, and each individual underwent carotid ultrasound and measures of pulse wave velocity and blood pressure. Medical history of previous cardiovascular disease, current medications and smoking were collected by questionnaire.. Salivary levels of CRP, leukotriene B4 (LTB4), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9), creatinine and lysozyme were measured. Salivary levels of CRP were significantly correlated with plasma levels (r = 0.73, P < 0.0001). In an age-adjusted and sex-adjusted analysis, salivary CRP was significantly and positively correlated with mean arterial blood pressure, pulse pressure, pulse wave velocity, BMI, metabolic syndrome, waist-to-hip ratio and intima-media thickness. Increasing age and sex-adjusted salivary CRP tertiles were in addition associated with carotid plaques. In a multivariate analysis, CRP and MMP-9 were associated with intima-media thickness, LTB4 and PGE2 with arterial stiffness, and lysozyme with hypertension.. Saliva may represent an alternative mean for evaluation of cardiovascular risk.

Topics: Aged; Atherosclerosis; Biomarkers; Blood Pressure; C-Reactive Protein; Cardiovascular Diseases; Carotid Intima-Media Thickness; Creatinine; Dinoprostone; Female; Humans; Hypertension; Inflammation Mediators; Leukotriene B4; Male; Matrix Metalloproteinase 9; Metabolic Syndrome; Middle Aged; Muramidase; Pulse Wave Analysis; Risk Factors; Saliva; Vascular Stiffness; Waist-Hip Ratio

Inflammation within the brain stem microvasculature has been associated with chronic cardiovascular diseases. We found that the expression of several enzymes involved in arachidonic acid-leukotriene B4 (LTB4) production was altered in nucleus tractus solitarii (NTS) of spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR). LTB4 produced from arachidonic acid by 5-lipoxygenase is a potent chemoattractant of leukocytes. Leukotriene B4-12-hydroxydehydrogenase (LTB4-12-HD), which degrades LTB4, was downregulated in SHR rats compared with that in Wistar-Kyoto rats. Quantitative real-time PCR revealed that LTB4-12-HD was reduced by 63% and 58% in the NTS of adult SHR and prehypertensive SHR, respectively, compared with that in age-matched Wistar-Kyoto rats (n=6). 5-lipoxygenase gene expression was upregulated in the NTS of SHR (≈50%; n=6). LTB4 levels were increased in the NTS of the SHR, (17%; n=10, P<0.05). LTB4 receptors BLT1 (but not BLT2) were expressed on astroglia in the NTS but not neurons or vessels. Microinjection of LTB4 into the NTS of Wistar-Kyoto rats increased both leukocyte adherence and arterial pressure for over 4 days (peak: +15 mm Hg; P<0.01). In contrast, blockade of NTS BLT1 receptors lowered blood pressure in the SHR (peak: -13 mm Hg; P<0.05) but not in Wistar-Kyoto rats. Thus, excessive amounts of LTB4 in NTS of SHR, possibly as a result of upregulation of 5-lipoxygenase and downregulation of LTB4-12-HD, can induce inflammation. Because blockade of NTS BLT1 receptors lowered arterial pressure in the SHR, their endogenous activity may contribute to the hypertensive state of this rodent model. Thus, inflammatory reactions in the brain stem are causally associated with neurogenic hypertension.

Topics: Animals; Arachidonate 5-Lipoxygenase; Astrocytes; Blood Pressure; Humans; Hypertension; Leukocytes; Leukotriene Antagonists; Leukotriene B4; Male; Neurons; Rats; Rats, Inbred SHR; Rats, Inbred WKY; Receptors, Leukotriene; Signal Transduction; Solitary Nucleus

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are known to attenuate the effects of some antihypertensive agents. However, the effect these drugs have on leukocyte migration when combined with antihypertensive agents has not been studied. To investigate this effect, we treated spontaneously hypertensive rats with saline, diclofenac, enalapril, or diclofenac combined with enalapril and observed leukocyte-endothelium interaction. Blood pressure was increased by diclofenac, reduced by enalapril and reduced by the combination of the two. Diclofenac did not interfere with the blood pressure-lowering effect of enalapril. Internal spermatic fascia venules were observed using intravital microscopy. Diclofenac reduced rollers, whereas enalapril, alone or combined with diclofenac, had no significant effect on rollers. All treatments reduced adherent and migrated leukocytes and expression of endothelial intercellular adhesion molecule-1. Venular shear rate, venular diameters, number of circulating leukocytes, and post-leukotriene B4 expression of l-selectin and CD11/CD18 integrin in leukocytes were unaffected by any treatment. Expression of P-selectin was reduced by diclofenac and unaffected by enalapril, even when combined with diclofenac. Our data suggest that, although diclofenac does not interfere with the enalapril anti-hypertensive effect, enalapril interferes with the effect diclofenac has on leukocyte rolling and endothelial P-selectin expression. Involvement of reduced endothelial intercellular adhesion molecule-1 expression might explain the lower numbers of adherent and migrated leukocytes. The anti-inflammatory properties of a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug could therefore be attenuated in hypertensive patients receiving an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor.

Topics: Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors; Animals; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; Blood Pressure; Cell Adhesion Molecules; Cell Migration Inhibition; Diclofenac; Drug Interactions; Enalapril; Endothelium, Vascular; Hypertension; Leukotriene B4; Male; Rats; Rats, Inbred SHR

Although the etiology of hypertension-related organ damage remains poorly understood, it has recently been proposed that activated and adherent leukocytes may contribute to the pathogenesis of progressive organ injury in hypertension. The objective of this study was to determine whether the adherence and emigration of leukocytes in microvessels differ between spontaneously hypertensive and normotensive rats. Leukocyte adherence, rolling, and emigration as well as vessel diameter and erythrocyte velocity were monitored in mesenteric venules of age-matched normotensive and hypertensive rats. Measurements were obtained under baseline conditions and during superfusion of the mesentery with either platelet activating factor, leukotriene B4, or NG-nitro-L-arginine-methyl ester, an inhibitor of nitric oxide synthesis. Tissue-associated myeloperoxidase activity, an index of the total tissue granulocyte population, was measured in various tissues of normotensive and hypertensive rats. Systemic arterial pressure and the circulating polymorphonuclear leukocyte count were elevated in hypertensive relative to normotensive rats. The number of adherent and emigrated leukocytes under baseline conditions did not differ between normotensive and hypertensive rats. Although the nitric oxide synthase inhibitor caused a similar rise in leukocyte adherence and emigration in both rat strains, the adhesive interactions elicited by either platelet activating factor or leukotriene B4 were significantly blunted in hypertensive relative to normotensive rats. Flow cytometric analysis of whole-blood samples revealed a lower surface expression of CD11b/CD18 on leukocytes from hypertensive rats under stimulated conditions. Myeloperoxidase activity in mesentery and small and large intestine was low, whereas lung, spleen, and stomach values were high in hypertensive compared with normotensive rats.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Topics: Animals; Arginine; Cell Adhesion; Endothelium, Vascular; Hypertension; Leukocyte Count; Leukocytes; Leukotriene B4; Male; Nitroarginine; Platelet Activating Factor; Rats; Rats, Inbred SHR; Rats, Inbred WKY; Reference Values; Splanchnic Circulation; Stress, Mechanical

Neutrophils possess a plasma-membrane-bound reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase which catalyzes superoxide (O2-) formation and is activated by a variety of stimuli. Recently, neutrophils of patients with essential hypertension (EHT) have been reported to generate O2- at rates up to fourfold higher than those of normotensive (NT) subjects upon exposure to the chemotactic peptide N-formyl-L-methionyl-L-leucyl-L-phenylalanine (fMet-Leu-Phe). We studied regulation of O2- formation in neutrophils of 25 EHT subjects and 25 age- and sex-matched NT subjects. The intercellular signal molecules fMet-Leu-Phe, platelet-activating factor and leukotriene B4 activated O2- formation in neutrophils, but the latter two receptor agonists were less effective than the former. fMet-Leu-Phe activated O2- formation with a 50% effective concentration (EC50) of about 30 nmol/l, the effect of the chemotactic peptide being maximal at 0.1-1 mumol/l. fMet-Leu-Phe-induced O2- formation was potentiated by platelet-activating factor, adenosine 5'-[gamma-thio]triphosphate and cytochalasin B and was inhibited by the activators of adenylyl cyclase, isoproterenol, prostaglandin E1 and histamine. 4 beta-Phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate, 1,2-dioctanoyl-sn-glycerol, gamma-hexachlorocyclohexane and arachidonic acid, which circumvent receptor stimulation, also activated O2- formation. Significant differences between NT and EHT subjects were not evident in respect of any of the parameters studied. Our data suggest that regulation of the neutrophil NADPH oxidase is not disturbed in EHT and that altered O2- formation does not represent a genetic marker for abnormalities in plasma-membrane signal transduction in EHT.

Topics: Adult; Female; Humans; Hypertension; Leukotriene B4; Male; N-Formylmethionine Leucyl-Phenylalanine; NADH, NADPH Oxidoreductases; NADPH Oxidases; Neutrophils; Platelet Activating Factor; Signal Transduction; Superoxides

Production of some lipoxygenase and cyclooxygenase derivatives of arachidonic acid was measured in placental tissue obtained from women with gestational hypertension and with normal pregnancies. The levels of leukotriene B4 were about five times higher in placentas from hypertensive women and also raised thromboxane A2 and reduced prostaglandin E2 levels were observed. Prostacyclin production was lowered only in women with more severe hypertension, in association with the highest measured levels of leukotriene B4 and thromboxane A2. It is suggested that increased placental levels of leukotriene B4 and thromboxane A2 appear already in mild gestational hypertension, while depression of prostacyclin may occur only at more severe stages of gestational hypertensive disease.

Topics: Adult; Dinoprostone; Epoprostenol; Female; Humans; Hypertension; Leukotriene B4; Placenta; Pregnancy; Pregnancy Complications, Cardiovascular; Thromboxane A2

Topics: Animals; Hypertension; In Vitro Techniques; Kidney Glomerulus; Leukotriene B4; Neutrophils; Rats; Rats, Inbred SHR; Rats, Inbred WKY; SRS-A

A survey is given of the biochemistry and importance of the prostaglandins, the thromboxanes, the prostacyclins and the leukotrienes. The formation of these compounds takes place from poly-unsaturated fatty acids and is regulated: here the phospholipase A2 plays a role. Among others the prostaglandins take part in the regulation of the blood supply of various tissues (heart, kidneys), in the regulation of the reproduction and in the evokation of labour. The thromboxanes and prostacyclins influence the aggregation and the desaggregation of the thrombocytes, respectively. The leukotrienes take part in the regulation of the permeability of the capillaries, in the migration of the leucocytes, the formation of inflammatory processes and in the evokation of asthma bronchiale. The insufficient intake leads to functional disturbances in various tissues, which partly are to be traced back to a decrease of the formation of the tissue hormones mentioned. An intake transgressing the demand has a favourable effect in various diseases: thus the inclination to aggregation of the thrombocytes is decreased and the development of arteriosclerotic changes is inhibited.

Topics: Animals; Arteriosclerosis; Epoprostenol; Fatty Acids, Essential; Hemodynamics; Humans; Hypertension; Leukotriene B4; Phospholipases A; Phospholipases A2; Platelet Aggregation; Prostaglandins; SRS-A; Thromboxanes