Oxidative stress and vascular smooth muscle cell function in liver disease

Reactive oxygen species and reactive nitroxy species are now being recogniz ed as regulatory molecules in signaling pathways influencing contractile an d noncontractile functions of healthy vascular smooth muscle cells. In live r disease, oxidative stress is a systemic phenomenon, whose extent correlat es with the severity of disease. A role for oxidative stress in the develop ment of the hyperdynamic circulation in portal hypertension has been propos ed. Evaluation of the limited available data indicates that it is premature to conclude that oxidative stress per se impacts on vascular smooth muscle cell function in liver disease. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.