Tempol prevents altered K(+) channel regulation of afferent arteriolar tone in diabetic rat kidney.

Experiments were performed to test the hypothesis that oxidative stress underlies the enhanced tonic dilator impact of inward-rectifier K(+) channels on renal afferent arterioles of rats with streptozotocin-induced diabetes mellitus. Sham and diabetic rats were left untreated or provided Tempol in their drinking water for 26±1 days, after which afferent arteriolar lumen diameter and its responsiveness to K(+) channel blockade were measured using the in vitro blood-perfused juxtamedullary nephron technique. Afferent diameter averaged 19.4±0.8 µm in sham rats and 24.4±0.8 µm in diabetic rats (P<0.05). The decrease in diameter evoked by Ba(2+) (inward-rectifier K(+) channel blocker) was 3 times greater in diabetic rats than in sham rats. Glibenclamide (K(ATP) channel blocker) and tertiapin-Q (Kir1.1/Kir3.x channel blocker) decreased afferent diameter in diabetic rats but had no effect on arterioles from sham rats. Chronic Tempol treatment prevented diabetes mellitus-induced increases in both renal vascular dihydroethidium staining and baseline afferent arteriolar diameter. Moreover, Tempol prevented the exaggeration of afferent arteriolar responses to Ba(2+), tertiapin-Q, and glibenclamide otherwise evident in diabetic rats. Preglomerular microvascular smooth muscle cells expressed mRNA encoding Kir1.1, Kir2.1, and Kir6.1. Neither diabetes mellitus nor Tempol altered Kir1.1, Kir2.1, Kir6.1, or SUR2B protein levels in renal cortical microvessels. To the extent that the effects of Tempol reflect its antioxidant actions, our observations indicate that oxidative stress contributes to the exaggerated impact of Kir1.1, Kir2.1, and K(ATP) channels on afferent arteriolar tone during diabetes mellitus and that this phenomenon involves posttranslational modulation of channel function.

Potassium channel contributions to afferent arteriolar tone in normal and diabetic rat kidney.

We previously reported an enhanced tonic dilator impact of ATP-sensitive K+ channels in afferent arterioles of rats with streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetes. The present study explored the hypothesis that other types of K+ channel also contribute to afferent arteriolar dilation in STZ rats. The in vitro blood-perfused juxtamedullary nephron technique was utilized to quantify afferent arteriolar lumen diameter responses to K+ channel blockers: 0.1-3.0 mM 4-aminopyridine (4-AP; KV channels), 10-100 microM barium (KIR channels), 1-100 nM tertiapin-Q (TPQ; Kir1.1 and Kir3.x subfamilies of KIR channels), 100 nM apamin (SKCa channels), and 1 mM tetraethylammonium (TEA; BKCa channels). In kidneys from normal rats, 4-AP, TEA, and Ba2+ reduced afferent diameter by 23 +/- 3, 8 +/- 4, and 18 +/- 2%, respectively, at the highest concentrations employed. Neither TPQ nor apamin significantly altered afferent diameter. In arterioles from STZ rats, a constrictor response to TPQ (22 +/- 4% decrease in diameter) emerged, and the response to Ba2+ was exaggerated (28 +/- 5% decrease in diameter). Responses to the other K+ channel blockers were similar to those observed in normal rats. Moreover, exposure to either TPQ or Ba2+ reversed the afferent arteriolar dilation characteristic of STZ rats. Acute surgical papillectomy did not alter the response to TPQ in arterioles from normal or STZ rats. We conclude that 1) KV, KIR, and BKCa channels tonically influence normal afferent arteriolar tone, 2) KIR channels (including Kir1.1 and/or Kir3.x) contribute to the afferent arteriolar dilation during diabetes, and 3) the dilator impact of Kir1.1/Kir3.x channels during diabetes is independent of solute delivery to the macula densa.

Reactive oxygen species contribute to sleep apnea-induced hypertension in rats.

In clinical studies, sleep apnea is associated with hypertension, oxidative stress, and increased circulating endothelin-1 (ET-1). We previously developed a model of sleep apnea by exposing rats to eucapnic intermittent hypoxia (IH-C) during sleep, which increases both blood pressure and plasma levels of ET-1. Because similar protocols in mice increase tissue and plasma markers of oxidative stress, we hypothesized that IH-C generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) contributes to the development of ET-1-dependent hypertension in IH-C rats. To test this, male Sprague-Dawley rats were instrumented with indwelling blood pressure telemeters and drank either plain water or water containing the superoxide dismutase mimetic, Tempol (4-hydroxy-2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-piperidine-1-oxyl, 1 mM). Mean arterial pressure (MAP) and heart rate (HR) were recorded for 3 control days and 14 treatment days with rats exposed 7 h/day to IH-C or air/air cycling (Sham). On day 14, MAP in IH-C rats treated with Tempol (107 +/- 2.29 mmHg) was significantly lower than in untreated IH-C rats (118 +/- 9 mmHg, P < 0.05). Tempol did not affect blood pressure in sham-operated rats (Tempol = 101 +/- 3, water = 101 +/- 2 mmHg). Immunoreactive ET-1 was greater in plasma from IH-C rats compared with plasma from sham-operated rats but was not different from Sham in Tempol-treated IH-C rats. Small mesenteric arteries from IH-C rats but not Tempol-treated IH-C rats had increased superoxide levels as measured by ferric cytochrome c reduction, lucigenin signaling, and dihydroethidium fluorescence. The data show that IH-C increases ET-1 production and vascular ROS levels and that scavenging superoxide prevents both. Thus oxidative stress appears to contribute to increases in ET-1 production and elevated arterial pressure in this rat model of sleep apnea-induced hypertension.