Mh. Yen et al., ROLE OF NITRIC-OXIDE IN LIPOPOLYSACCHARIDE-INDUCED MORTALITY FROM SPONTANEOUSLY HYPERTENSIVE RATS, Life sciences, 60(15), 1997, pp. 1223-1230
Citations number
22
Categorie Soggetti
Biology,"Medicine, Research & Experimental","Pharmacology & Pharmacy
To investigate whether nitric oxide (NO) contributed to a higher morta
lity induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in spontaneously hypertensive
rats (SHR), NO synthase inhibitors were used to examine the mortality
from LPS in SHR and normotensive Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats. We evaluate
d the mortality from LPS in a series of doses (5, 10, or 20 mg/kg, i.v
.) in the anesthetized rat. Plasma nitrite was measured before and at
1, 2, and 3 h after treated rats with LPS (5 mg/kg, i.v.). Pressure re
sponses to N omega-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) and aminogua
nidine (AG) were performed in rats treated with or without LPS for 3 h
. Thoracic aortic cyclic guanosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cGMP) levels w
ere also assessed. Our results demonstrated that injection of LPS caus
ed a dose-dependent mortality in both strains, having a more marked ef
fect in SHR. The survival time of rats after injection of LPS (5 mg/kg
, i.v.) was much shorter in SHR. A higher basal level of plasma nitrit
e was observed in SHR and this difference was further augmented by LPS
. The administration of L-NAME (3 mg/kg, i.v.) and AG (15 mg/kg, i.v.)
3 h after LPS had no significant effects on the survival time of WKY
rats, but significantly prolonged that of SHR to a similar time of WKY
rats. The injecton of L-NAME prior to LPS increased blood pressure of
WKY rats by 28+/-5 mmHg and increased that of SHR by 38+/-4 mmHg. At
3 h after LPS, L-NAME had a greater presser effect in SHR than in WKY
rats. By contrast, before rats injected with LPS, AG slightly increase
d blood pressure of SHR by 7+/-3 mmHg but not of WKY rats (3+/-2 mmHg)
, whereas it also had a greater presser effect in SHR than in WKY rats
after treated rats with LPS far 3 h. In addition, LPS induced a highe
r level of cGMP in SHR than in WKY rats, which was attenuated by in vi
tro treatment of aortic rings from LPS-rats with L-NAME or AG to a sim
ilar level in SHR and WKY rats. These results suggest that a higher le
vel of NO evoked by LPS is associated with a higher mortality in SHR a
nd we propose that the elevated NO synthesis in SHR may play an import
ant role in the compensatory mechanisms activated to combat the hypert
ensive state.