T. Izawa et al., DECREASED VASCULAR SENSITIVITY AFTER ACUTE EXERCISE AND CHRONIC EXERCISE TRAINING IN RAT THORACIC AORTA, Research communications in molecular pathology and pharmacology, 93(3), 1996, pp. 331-342
The effects of acute and chronic physical exercise on the sensitivity
of isolated aorta to norepinephrine were investigated. After chronic e
xercise, the EC(50) values for norepinephrine increased 3.1-fold and 2
.3-fold in endothelium-intact and in endothelium-denuded aorta, respec
tively. The attenuated sensitivity of aorta to norepinephrine after ch
ronic exercise was still evident in endothelium-denuded aorta, but to
a lesser extent than in endothelium-intact aorta. After acute exercise
, in control rats, the EC(50) values increased 7.8-fold and 5.4-fold i
n endothelium-intact and endothelium-denuded aorta, respectively. The
attenuated sensitivity of aorta to norepinephrine after an acute exerc
ise was still evident in endothelium-denuded aorta. In trained rats, t
he EC(50) values increased 2.3-fold and 2.6-fold in endothelium-intact
and endothelium-denuded aorta, respectively. Thus, acute exercise was
less effective in trained than in control rats. No significant differ
ence in 60 mM KCl-induced tension between control and trained rats was
observed with or without endothelium after acute and chronic exercise
. The results suggest that levels of endothelium-dependent releasing f
actor may increase in response to norepinephrine after acute and chron
ic exercise. In addition, the attenuated sensitivity of aorta to norep
inephrine after acute and chronic exercise may also result from the ch
ange(s) in the receptor sites. However, the degree of desensitization
caused by acute exercise was less in the rats adapted to chronic exerc
ise than in the sedentary control rats.