Haemozoin formation in the midgut of the blood-sucking insect Rhodnius prolixus.
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Malaria parasites digest haemoglobin and detoxify the free haem by its sequestration into an insoluble dark-brown pigment known as haemozoin (Hz). Until recently, this pigment could be found only in Plasmodium parasites. However, we have shown that Hz is also present in the midgut of the blood-sucking insect Rhodnius prolixus [Oliveira et al. (1999) Nature 400, 517-518]. Here we show that Hz synthesis in the midgut of this insect is promoted by a particulate fraction from intestine lumen. Haem aggregation activity is heat-labile and is inhibited in vitro by chloroquine (CLQ). Inhibition of Hz formation in vivo by feeding insects with CLQ leads to increased levels of haem in the haemolymph of the insect, which resulted in increased lipid peroxidation. Taken together, these results indicate that a factor capable of promoting Hz crystallisation is present in R. prolixus midgut and that this activity represents an important physiological defence of this insect against haem toxicity. (+info)
Propofol attenuates acetylcholine-induced pulmonary vasorelaxation: role of nitric oxide and endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factors.
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BACKGROUND: The mechanism by which propofol selectively attenuates the pulmonary vasodilator response to acetylcholine is unknown. The goals of this study were to identify the contributions of endogenous endothelial mediators (nitric oxide [NO], prostacyclin, and endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factors [EDHFs]) to acetylcholine-induced pulmonary vasorelaxation, and to delineate the extent to which propofol attenuates responses to these endothelium-derived relaxing factors. METHODS: Canine pulmonary arterial rings were suspended for isometric tension recording. The effects of propofol on the vasorelaxation responses to acetylcholine, bradykinin, and the guanylyl cyclase activator, SIN-1, were assessed in phenylephrine-precontracted rings. The contributions of NO, prostacyclin, and EDHFs to acetylcholine-induced vasorelaxation were assessed in control and propofol-treated rings by pretreating the rings with a NO synthase inhibitor (l-NAME), a cyclooxygenase inhibitor (indomethacin), and a cytochrome P450 inhibitor (clotrimazole or SKF 525A) alone and in combination. RESULTS: Propofol caused a dose-dependent rightward shift in the acetylcholine dose-response relation, whereas it had no effect on the pulmonary vasorelaxant responses to bradykinin or SIN-1. Cyclooxygenase inhibition only attenuated acetylcholine-induced relaxation at high concentrations of the agonist. NO synthase inhibition and cytochrome P450 inhibition each attenuated the response to acetylcholine, and combined inhibition abolished the response. Propofol further attenuated acetylcholine-induced relaxation after NO synthase inhibition and after cytochrome P450 inhibition. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that acetylcholine-induced pulmonary vasorelaxation is mediated by two components: NO and a cytochrome P450 metabolite likely to be an EDHF. Propofol selectively attenuates acetylcholine-induced relaxation by inhibiting both of these endothelium-derived mediators. (+info)
Nitric oxide exerts feedback inhibition on EDHF-induced coronary arteriolar dilation in vivo.
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We tested the hypothesis that nitric oxide (NO) inhibits endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor (EDHF)-induced vasodilation via a negative feedback pathway in the coronary microcirculation. Coronary microvascular diameters were measured using stroboscopic fluorescence microangiography. Bradykinin (BK)-induced dilation was mediated by EDHF, when NO and prostaglandin syntheses were inhibited, or by NO when EDHF and prostaglandin syntheses were blocked. Specifically, BK (20, 50, and 100 ng. kg(-1). min(-1) ic) caused dose-dependent vasodilation similarly before and after administration of N(G)-monomethyl-L-arginine (L-NMMA) (3 micromol/min ic for 10 min) and indomethacin (Indo, 10 mg/kg iv). The residual dilation to BK with L-NMMA and Indo was completely abolished by suffusion of miconazole or an isosmotic buffer containing high KCl (60 mM), suggesting that this arteriolar vasodilation is mediated by the cytochrome P-450 derivative EDHF. BK-induced dilation was reduced by 39% after inhibition of EDHF and prostaglandin synthesis, and dilation was further inhibited by combined blockade with L-NMMA to a 74% reduction in the response. This suggests an involvement for NO in the vasodilation. After dilation to BK was assessed with L-NMMA and Indo, sodium nitroprusside (SNP, 1-3 microgram. kg(-1). min(-1) ic), an exogenous NO donor, was administered in a dose to increase the diameter to the original control value. Dilation to BK was virtually abolished when administered concomitantly with SNP during L-NMMA and Indo (P < 0.01 vs. before SNP), suggesting that NO inhibits EDHF-induced dilation. SNP did not affect adenosine- or papaverine-induced arteriolar dilation in the presence of L-NMMA and Indo, demonstrating that the effect of SNP was not nonspecific. In conclusion, our data are the first in vivo evidence to suggest that NO inhibits the production and/or action of EDHF in the coronary microcirculation. (+info)
Ouabain augments Ca(2+) transients in arterial smooth muscle without raising cytosolic Na(+).
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Ouabain and other cardiotonic steroids (CTS) inhibit Na(+) pumps and are widely believed to exert their cardiovascular effects by raising the cytosolic Na(+) concentration ([Na(+)](cyt)) and Ca(2+). This view has not been rigorously reexamined despite evidence that low-dose CTS may act without elevating [Na(+)](cyt); also, it does not explain the presence of multiple, functionally distinct isoforms of the Na(+) pump in many cells. We investigated the effects of Na(+) pump inhibition on [Na(+)](cyt) (with Na(+) binding benzofuran isophthalate) and Ca(2+) transients (with fura 2) in primary cultured arterial myocytes. Low concentrations of ouabain (3-100 nM) or human ouabain-like compound or reduced extracellular K(+) augmented hormone-evoked mobilization of stored Ca(2+) but did not increase bulk [Na(+)](cyt). Augmentation depended directly on external Na(+), but not external Ca(2+), and was inhibited by 10 mM Mg(2+) or 10 microM La(3+). Evoked Ca(2+) transients in pressurized small resistance arteries were also augmented by nanomolar ouabain and inhibited by Mg(2+). These results suggest that Na(+) enters a tiny cytosolic space between the plasmalemma (PL) and the adjacent sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) via an Mg(2+)- and La(3+)-blockable mechanism that is activated by SR store depletion. The Na(+) and Ca(2+) concentrations within this space may be controlled by clusters of high ouabain affinity (alpha3) Na(+) pumps and Na/Ca exchangers located in PL microdomains overlying the SR. Inhibition of the alpha3 pumps by low-dose ouabain should raise the local concentrations of Na(+) and Ca(2+) and augment hormone-evoked release of Ca(2+) from SR stores. Thus the clustering of small numbers of specific PL ion transporters adjacent to the SR can regulate global Ca(2+) signaling. This mechanism may affect vascular tone and blood flow and may also influence Ca(2+) signaling in many other types of cells. (+info)
An endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor distinct from NO and prostacyclin is a major endothelium-dependent vasodilator in resistance vessels of wild-type and endothelial NO synthase knockout mice.
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In addition to nitric oxide (NO) and prostacyclin (PGI(2)), the endothelium generates the endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor (EDHF). We set out to determine whether an EDHF-like response can be detected in wild-type (WT) and endothelial NO synthase knockout mice (eNOS -/-) mice. Vasodilator responses to endothelium-dependent agonists were determined in vivo and in vitro. In vivo, bradykinin induced a pronounced, dose-dependent decrease in mean arterial pressure (MAP) which did not differ between WT and eNOS -/- mice and was unaffected by treatment with N(omega)-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester and diclofenac. In the saline-perfused hindlimb of WT and eNOS -/- mice, marked N(omega)-nitro-l-arginine (l-NA, 300 micromol/liter)- and diclofenac-insensitive vasodilations in response to both bradykinin and acetylcholine (ACh) were observed, which were more pronounced than the agonist-induced vasodilation in the hindlimb of WT in the absence of l-NA. This endothelium-dependent, NO/PGI(2)-independent vasodilatation was sensitive to KCl (40 mM) and to the combination of apamin and charybdotoxin. Gap junction inhibitors (18alpha-glycyrrhetinic acid, octanol, heptanol) and CB-1 cannabinoid-receptor agonists (Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol, HU210) impaired EDHF-mediated vasodilation, whereas inhibition of cytochrome P450 enzymes, soluble guanylyl cyclase, or adenosine receptors had no effect on EDHF-mediated responses. These results demonstrate that in murine resistance vessels the predominant agonist-induced endothelium-dependent vasodilation in vivo and in vitro is not mediated by NO, PGI(2), or a cytochrome P450 metabolite, but by an EDHF-like principle that requires functional gap junctions. (+info)
Nifedipine increases cytochrome P4502C expression and endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor-mediated responses in coronary arteries.
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In addition to NO and prostacyclin, endothelial cells release a factor that elicits vasodilatation by hyperpolarizing the underlying vascular smooth muscle cells. In some vascular beds, this so-called endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor (EDHF) displays the characteristics of a cytochrome P450 (CYP)-derived arachidonic acid metabolite, such as an epoxyeicosatrienoic acid. Native porcine and cultured human coronary artery endothelial cells were screened for CYP epoxygenases, and CYP2B, CYP2C, and CYP2J were detected with reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. The CYP inducer beta-naphthoflavone and the Ca(2+) antagonist nifedipine significantly increased CYP2C mRNA but did not change the expression of CYP2J or CYP2B. To determine the relationship between CYP2C expression and EDHF production in native endothelial cells, we incubated porcine coronary arteries with nifedipine. Nifedipine enhanced endothelial CYP2C protein expression, as well as the generation of 11,12-epoxyeicosatrienoic acid. In organ bath experiments, pretreatment with nifedipine enhanced bradykinin-induced, EDHF-mediated relaxations as well as the concomitant hyperpolarization of smooth muscle cells. The specific CYP2C9 inhibitor sulfaphenazole, on the other hand, significantly attenuated EDHF-mediated hyperpolarization and relaxation. These results demonstrate that in porcine coronary arteries, the elevated expression of a CYP epoxygenase, homologous to CYP2C8/9, is associated with enhanced EDHF-mediated hyperpolarization in response to bradykinin. Therefore, we propose that an isozyme of CYP2C is the most likely candidate for the CYP-dependent EDHF synthase in porcine coronary arteries. (+info)
Discrimination between apoptosis and necrosis of neurons under oxidative stress.
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Flow cytometric studies of rat cerebellum neurons are described under conditions inducing cell death. Using a double labeling technique, discrimination between apoptotic and necrotic cell transformations is demonstrated. Histidine containing neuropeptides were found to regulate cell stability, taking part in selection of the preferable way of neuronal death under oxidative stress. (+info)
Comparison of the pharmacological properties of EDHF-mediated vasorelaxation in guinea-pig cerebral and mesenteric resistance vessels.
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In the presence of L-NNA (100 microM), indomethacin (10 microM) and ODQ (10 microM), acetylcholine induced a concentration-dependent vasorelaxation of guinea-pig mesenteric and middle cerebral arteries precontracted with cirazoline or histamine, but not with high K(+), indicating the contribution of an endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor (EDHF). In cerebral arteries, charybdotoxin (ChTX; 0.1 microM) completely inhibited the indomethacin, L-NNA and ODQ-insensitive relaxation; iberiotoxin (IbTX, 0.1 microM), 4-aminopyridine (4-AP, 1 mM), or barium (30 microM) significantly reduced the response; in the mesenteric artery, ChTX and IbTX also reduced this relaxation. Glibenclamide (10 microM) had no affect in either the mesenteric or cerebral artery. Neither clotrimazole (1 microM) nor 7-ethoxyresorufin (3 microM) affected EDHF-mediated relaxation in the mesenteric artery, but abolished or attenuated EDHF-mediated relaxations in the cerebral artery. AM404 (30 microM), a selective anandamide transport inhibitor, did not affect the vasorelaxation response to acetylcholine in the cerebral artery, but in the mesenteric artery potentiated the vasorelaxation response to acetylcholine in an IbTX, and apamin-sensitive, but SR 141816A-insensitive manner. Ouabain (100 microM) almost abolished EDHF-mediated relaxation in the mesenteric artery, but enhanced the relaxation in the cerebral artery whereas the addition of K(+) (5 - 20 mM) to precontracted guinea-pig cerebral or mesenteric artery induced further vasoconstriction. These data suggest that in the guinea-pig mesenteric and cerebral arteries different EDHFs mediate acetylcholine-induced relaxation, however, EDHF is unlikely to be mediated by K(+). (+info)