The role of perivascular adipose tissue and endogenous hydrogen sulfide in vasoactive responses of isolated mesenteric arteries in normotensive and spontaneously hypertensive rats.

Perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) play important roles in the modulation of vasoactive responses and can interfere with the ethiopathogenesis of essential hypertension. The aim of this study was to evaluate the mutual relationship between PVAT and H2S (endogenously produced, exogenous) in vasoactive responses of isolated mesenteric arteries (MA) in adult normotensive (Wistar) and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). In SHR, hypertension was associated with cardiac hypertrophy and increased contractility; however, there were no differences in the amount of retroperitoneal fat between strains. PVAT revealed the anti-contractile effect on vasoconstriction induced by exogenous noradrenaline in both strains, but surprisingly, this effect was stronger in SHR. Concurrently; PVAT exhibited a pro-contractile effect on contractions to endogenous noradrenaline released from arterial sympathetic nerves in SHR, but not in Wistar rats. We confirmed the anti-contractile effect of H2S in both, the vascular wall and PVAT of Wistar rats because the pre-treatment with propargylglycine (PPG), an inhibitor of H2S producing enzyme, significantly increased the noradrenaline-induced contraction. In SHR, H2S in the vascular wall exhibited a pro-contractile effect that was eliminated by the presence of PVAT; however, the pre-treatment with PPG did not affect noradrenaline contraction farther. Nevertheless, unlike in Wistar rats, the presence of PVAT potentiated the vasorelaxant effect of exogenously applied H2S in SHR. Our results confirmed that PVAT of MA and endogenously produced H2S could manifest as pro-contractile or as anti-contractile. In SHR, unlike in Wistar rats, the pro-contractile effect of PVAT associated with the stimulation of perivascular nerves, and the pro-contractile effect of H2S in the arterial wall could represent pathologic features. On the other hand, PVAT of SHR is endowed with compensatory vasoactive mechanisms, which include stronger anti-contractile action of an unknown factor (other than H2S) and potentiation of the vasorelaxant effect of exogenous H2S.

Communication Deficits and the Motor System: Exploring Patterns of Associations in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

Many children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have notable difficulties in motor, speech and language domains. The connection between motor skills (oral-motor, manual-motor) and speech and language deficits reported in other developmental disorders raises important questions about a potential relationship between motor skills and speech-language deficits in ASD. To this end, we examined data from children with ASD (n = 1781), 2-17 years of age, enrolled in the Autism Speaks-Autism Treatment Network (AS-ATN) registry who completed a multidisciplinary evaluation that included diagnostic, physical, cognitive and behavioral assessments as part of a routine standard of care protocol. After adjusting for age, non-verbal IQ, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) medication use, and muscle tone, separate multiple linear regression analyses revealed significant positive associations of fine motor skills (FM) with both expressive language (EL) and receptive language (RL) skills in an impaired FM subgroup; in contrast, the impaired gross motor (GM) subgroup showed no association with EL but a significant negative association with RL. Similar analyses between motor skills and interpersonal relationships across the sample found both GM skills and FM skills to be associated with social interactions. These results suggest potential differences in the contributions of fine versus gross motor skills to autistic profiles and may provide another lens with which to view communication differences across the autism spectrum for use in treatment interventions.