nitroarginine and Hypertrophy

Reduced activity and expression of endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) is observed in cardiomyocytes from pressure-overloaded hearts with heart failure. The present study was aimed to investigate whether reduced eNOS-derived NO production contributes to the hypertrophic growth and phenotype of these cardiomyocytes. Cultured ventricular cardiomyocytes from adult rats were exposed to Nomega-nitro-l-arginine (l-NNA) to inhibit global NO formation, and cultured cardiomyocytes derived from eNOS-deficient mice were used as a model of genetic knockout of eNOS. Cell growth, formation of oxygen-derived radicals (reactive oxygen species [ROS]), activation of p38 mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase phosphorylation, and cytokine expression in cardiomyocytes were investigated. l-NNA caused a concentration-dependent acceleration of the rate of protein synthesis and an increase in cell size. This effect was sensitive to p38 MAP kinase inhibition or antioxidants. l-NNA induced a rapid increase in ROS formation, subsequent activation of p38 MAP kinase, and p38 MAP kinase-dependent increases in the expression of transforming growth factor-beta and tumor necrosis factor-alpha. Similar changes (increased ROS formation, p38 MAP kinase phosphorylation, and cytokine induction) were also observed in cardiomyocytes derived from eNOS+/+ mice when exposed to l-NNA. Cardiomyocytes from eNOS-/- mice displayed higher p38 MAP kinase phosphorylation and cytokine expression under basal conditions, but neither these 2 parameters nor ROS formation were increased in the presence of l-NNA. In conclusion, our data support the hypothesis that reduced eNOS activity in cardiomyocytes contributes to the onset of myocardial hypertrophy and increased cytokine expression, which are involved in the transition to heart failure.

Topics: Animals; Cells, Cultured; Cytokines; Enzyme Activation; Enzyme Inhibitors; Heart Ventricles; Hypertrophy; Imidazoles; Male; Mice; Mice, Knockout; Myocytes, Cardiac; Nitric Oxide; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type III; Nitroarginine; p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases; Proteins; Pyridines; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Reactive Oxygen Species

Bladder outlet obstruction (BOO) is associated with altered bladder structure and function. Endothelin-1 (ET-1) has mitogenic and potent contractile properties. There are two ET receptors: ET(A) and ET(B). Nitric oxide synthase (NOS) is the enzyme responsible for the synthesis of nitric oxide (NO) which is involved in smooth muscle relaxation. We investigated whether there are any changes in the density of ET-receptors and NOS in the detrusor and bladder neck in a rabbit model of BOO. Partial BOO was induced in adult male New Zealand White rabbits. Sham operated age-matched rabbits acted as controls. After six weeks the urinary bladders were excised and detrusor and bladder neck sections incubated with radioligands for ET-1, ET(A) and ET(B) receptors and with [3H]-1-NOARG (a ligand for NOS). NADPH histochemistry was also performed. BOO bladder weights were significantly increased (P = 0.002). ET-1 binding and ETA receptor binding sites were significantly increased in the BOO detrusor smooth muscle (P = 0.04, P = 0.03 respectively) and urothelium (P = 0.002, P = 0.02 respectively). ET(B) receptor binding sites were also significantly increased in the BOO detrusor smooth muscle (P = 0.04). However, there was no change in the BOO bladder neck. NOS was significantly decreased in the detrusor smooth muscle (P = 0.003) and urothelium (P = 0.0002). In the bladder neck NOS was also significantly reduced in the urothelium (P = 0.003). NADPH staining was decreased in the detrusor and bladder neck. The up-regulation of ET receptors along with the down-regulation of NOS in the detrusor may contribute to the symptoms associated with BOO. Since ET-1 has a mitogenic role, especially via its ETA receptors, the increase in ETA receptors may also be involved in detrusor hyperplasia and hypertrophy in BOO. ET antagonists may therefore have a role in the treatment of patients with BOO.

Topics: Animals; Autoradiography; Binding Sites; Disease Models, Animal; Down-Regulation; Endothelin-1; Humans; Hyperplasia; Hypertrophy; Male; Muscle, Smooth; NADPH Dehydrogenase; Nitric Oxide Synthase; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type III; Nitroarginine; Prostatic Hyperplasia; Rabbits; Receptor, Endothelin A; Receptor, Endothelin B; Receptors, Endothelin; Up-Regulation; Urinary Bladder Neck Obstruction

To determine the roles played by kinins/nitric oxide and angiotensin II in the antitrophic effects of angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors on mesenteric arteries after 3 weeks of streptozotocin diabetes by using blockers both of the angiotensin II AT1 receptor and of the bradykinin B2 receptor.. Male diabetic Wistar rats were randomly allocated to receive no treatment, the angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors perindopril or ramipril, the AT1 receptor blocker ZD7155, the bradykinin B2 receptor blocker Hoe 140, the nitric oxide synthase inhibitor NG-nitro-L-arginine-methyl ester, concomitant administration of perindopril plus subcutaneous Hoe 140, perindopril plus NG-nitro-L-arginine, or ramipril plus Hoe 140 (Hoe 140 administered via an Alzet mini-osmotic pump).. After 3 weeks, the rats were killed, their blood collected and their mesenteric vessels removed. The mesenteric vascular weight was measured and the media wall: lumen area ratio was assessed using quantitative histomorphometric techniques.. Diabetes was associated with an increase in mesenteric weight and media wall:lumen area ratio. The angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors, perindopril and ramipril, and the AT1 receptor antagonist ZD7155 reduced blood pressure and attenuated vascular weight and media wall:lumen area ratio. Concomitant administration of an angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor with the kinin antagonist Hoe 140, administered either subcutaneously or via a mini-osmotic pump, or of the nitric oxide synthase inhibitor NG-nitro-L-arginine attenuated the effect of the angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor on the mesenteric vascular weight and wall:lumen area ratios. Treatment with Hoe 140 or NG-nitro-L-arginine alone affected none of these parameters.. The antitrophic effect of angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors on diabetic mesenteric arteries is mediated by inhibition of angiotensin II and by actions on the kinin-nitric oxide pathway.

Topics: Angiotensin II; Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors; Animals; Arginine; Bradykinin; Diabetic Angiopathies; Hypertrophy; Indoles; Kinins; Male; Mesenteric Arteries; Nitric Oxide; Nitroarginine; Perindopril; Rats; Rats, Wistar

The relaxation mechanism of the pyloric smooth muscle is largely dependent on a nonadrenergic noncholinergic (NANC) inhibitory innervation mediated in part by nitric oxide (NO). The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of NO antagonists on the contractility of the pyloric smooth muscle. In the clinical trial, 10 anesthetized experimental rabbits were infused intraarterially with the NO synthesis inhibitor N-nitro-L-arginine (L-NNA), at a concentration of 10(-4) mol/L; 10 controls received normal saline intraarterially. Pyloric contractility was assessed by balloon manometry. L-NNA infusion produced a dose-dependent increase in the frequency of the pyloric contraction. The maximal increase in frequency occurred during the slow L-NNA infusion rate of 146 ng/min (baseline-adjusted frequencies of experimental v control: 1.267 +/- 0.389 v 0.632 +/- 0.375; P = .001). The increased frequency level was sustained over the subsequent fast infusion rate of 292 ng/min (experimental v control: 1.362 +/- 0.604 v 0.704 +/- 0.579; P = .022). Both the duration and the amplitude of the pyloric contractions were not affected by the L-NNA infusion. These findings suggest that blockage of the L-arginine-NO pathway may have resulted in inhibition of the NANC-induced gastric muscle and relaxation of the pyloric sphincter. The authors speculate that the decreased NO production may be responsible for the sustained contraction of the pyloric smooth muscle with secondary hypertrophy, characteristic of hypertrophic pyloric stenosis.

Topics: Analysis of Variance; Animals; Enzyme Inhibitors; Female; Hypertrophy; Male; Manometry; Muscle Contraction; Muscle Hypertonia; Nitric Oxide; Nitroarginine; Pyloric Stenosis; Pylorus; Rabbits; Statistics, Nonparametric; Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide