Fetal sex and the relative reactivity of human umbilical vein and arteries are key determinants in potential beneficial effects of phosphodiesterase inhibitors.

Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) is a common complication of pregnancy. We previously demonstrated that IUGR is associated with an impaired nitric oxide (NO)-induced relaxation in the human umbilical vein (HUV) of growth-restricted females compared to appropriate for gestational age (AGA) newborns. We found that phosphodiesterase (PDE) inhibition improved NO-induced relaxation in HUV, suggesting that PDEs could represent promising targets for therapeutic intervention. This study aimed to investigate the effects of PDE inhibition on human umbilical arteries (HUAs) compared to HUV. Umbilical vessels were collected in IUGR and AGA term newborns. NO-induced relaxation was studied using isolated vessel tension experiments in the presence or absence of the nonspecific PDE inhibitor 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine (IBMX). PDE1B, PDE1C, PDE3A, PDE4B, and PDE5A were investigated by Western blot. NO-induced vasodilation was similar between IUGR and AGA HUAs. In HUAs precontracted with serotonin, IBMX enhanced NO-induced relaxation only in IUGR females, whereas in HUV IBMX increased NO-induced relaxation in all groups except IUGR males. In umbilical vessels preconstricted with the thromboxane A2 analog U46619, IBMX improved NO-induced relaxation in all groups to a greater extent in HUV than HUAs. However, the PDE protein content was higher in HUAs than HUV in all study groups. Therefore, the effects of PDE inhibition depend on the presence of IUGR, fetal sex, vessel type, and vasoconstrictors implicated. Despite a higher PDE protein content, HUAs are less sensitive to IBMX than HUV, which could lead to adverse effects of PDE inhibition in vivo by impairment of the fetoplacental hemodynamics.NEW & NOTEWORTHY The effects of phosphodiesterase inhibition on the umbilical circulation depend on the presence of intrauterine growth restriction, the fetal sex, vessel type, and vasoconstrictors implicated. The human umbilical vascular tone regulation is complex and depends on the amount and activity of specific proteins but also probably on the subcellular organization mediating protein interactions. Therefore, therapeutic interventions using phosphodiesterase inhibitors to improve the placental-fetal circulation should consider fetal sex and both umbilical vein and artery reactivity.

High-intensity exercise in hypoxia improves endothelial function via increased nitric oxide bioavailability in C57BL/6 mice.

AIM: The optimal exercise intensity to improve endothelial function remains unclear, as well as whether the addition of hypoxia could potentiate this function. Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare the effects of different exercise intensities in normoxia and hypoxia on vascular reactivity and nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability in mice. METHODS: C57BL/6 mice underwent treadmill running three times per week, for 4 weeks at either low, maximal or supramaximal intensity in normoxia or hypoxia (inspire oxygen fraction = 0.13). Vascular reactivity and expression of genes and proteins involved in NO production/bioavailability were assessed in aorta using isolated vessel tension experiments, RT-qPCR and western blot, respectively. Circulating NO metabolites and pro-/antioxidant markers were measured. RESULTS: Hypoxic exercise improved both acetylcholine-induced vasorelaxation and phenylephrine-induced vasoconstriction compared to normoxic exercise, independently of intensity. In hypoxia, a higher acetylcholine-induced vasorelaxation was observed with high intensities (supramaximal and maximal) compared to low intensity. Exercise protocols modulated endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) and α1-adrenergic receptor (α1 -AR) mRNA level, but not superoxide dismutase 3 (SOD3) and p47phox. No significant differences were observed for protein expression of α1 -AR, total eNOS, phosphorylated eNOS, SOD isoforms and p47phox. However, plasma SOD and catalase activities were significantly increased in hypoxic supramaximal compared to hypoxic low intensity, while concentration of nitrotyrosine significantly decreased. The latter was also observed in hypoxic maximal and supramaximal compared to the same intensities in normoxia. CONCLUSION: Hypoxic high-intensity exercise increases NO bioavailability and improves vascular function, opening promising clinical perspectives for cardiovascular disease prevention.

Intrauterine growth restriction is associated with sex-specific alterations in the nitric oxide/cyclic GMP relaxing pathway in the human umbilical vein.

INTRODUCTION: Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) is a leading cause of perinatal mortality and morbidity, and is linked to an increased risk to develop chronic diseases in adulthood. We previously demonstrated that IUGR is associated, in female neonates, with a decreased nitric oxide (NO)-induced relaxation of the umbilical vein (UV). The present study aimed to investigate the contribution of the smooth muscle components of the NO/cyclic GMP (cGMP) pathway to this alteration. METHODS: UVs were collected in growth-restricted or appropriate for gestational age (AGA) human term newborns. Soluble guanylyl cyclase (sGC) and cGMP-dependent protein kinase (PKG) were studied by Western blot, cGMP production by ELISA and cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterases (PDEs) activity using a colorimetric assay. Contribution of PDEs was evaluated using the non-specific PDEs inhibitor 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine (IBMX) in isolated vessel tension studies. RESULTS: NO-induced relaxation was reduced in IUGR females despite increased sGC protein and activity, and some increase in PKG protein compared to AGA. In males, no significant difference was observed between both groups. In the presence of IBMX, NO-stimulated cGMP production was significantly higher in IUGR than AGA females. Pre-incubation with IBMX significantly improved NO-induced relaxation in all groups and abolished the difference between IUGR and AGA females. CONCLUSION: IUGR is associated with sex-specific alterations in the UV's smooth muscle. The impaired NO-induced relaxation observed in growth-restricted females is linked to an imbalance in the NO/cGMP pathway. The beneficial effects of IBMX suggest that PDEs are implicated in such alteration and they could represent promising targets for therapeutic intervention.

Supramaximal Intensity Hypoxic Exercise and Vascular Function Assessment in Mice.

Exercise training is an important strategy for maintaining health and preventing many chronic diseases. It is the first line of treatment recommended by international guidelines for patients suffering from cardiovascular diseases, more specifically, lower extremity artery diseases, where the patients' walking capacity is considerably altered, affecting their quality of life. Traditionally, both low continuous exercise and interval training have been used. Recently, supramaximal training has also been shown to improve athletes' performances via vascular adaptations, amongst other mechanisms. The combination of this type of training with hypoxia could bring an additional and/or synergic effect, which could be of interest for certain pathologies. Here, we describe how to perform supramaximal intensity training sessions in hypoxia on healthy mice at 150% of their maximal speed, using a motorized treadmill and a hypoxic box. We also show how to dissect the mouse in order to retrieve organs of interest, particularly the pulmonary artery, the abdominal aorta, and the iliac artery. Finally, we show how to perform ex vivo vascular function assessment on the retrieved vessels, using isometric tension studies.

Alarm pheromone and kairomone detection via bitter taste receptors in the mouse Grueneberg ganglion.

BACKGROUND: The mouse Grueneberg ganglion (GG) is an olfactory subsystem specialized in the detection of volatile heterocyclic compounds signalling danger. The signalling pathways transducing the danger signals are only beginning to be characterized. RESULTS: Screening chemical libraries for compounds structurally resembling the already-identified GG ligands, we found a new category of chemicals previously identified as bitter tastants that initiated fear-related behaviours in mice depending on their volatility and evoked neuronal responses in mouse GG neurons. Screening for the expression of signalling receptors of these compounds in the mouse GG yielded transcripts of the taste receptors Tas2r115, Tas2r131, Tas2r143 and their associated G protein α-gustducin (Gnat3). We were further able to confirm their expression at the protein level. Challenging these three G protein-coupled receptors in a heterologous system with the known GG ligands, we identified TAS2R143 as a chemical danger receptor transducing both alarm pheromone and predator-derived kairomone signals. CONCLUSIONS: These results demonstrate that similar molecular elements might be used by the GG and by the taste system to detect chemical danger signals present in the environment.

Frontline Science: Leishmania mexicana amastigotes can replicate within neutrophils.

Cutaneous leishmaniasis is a neglected tropical disease, causing a spectrum of clinical manifestations varying from self-healing to unhealing lesions that may be very difficult to treat. Emerging evidence points to a detrimental role for neutrophils during the first hours following infection with many distinct Leishmania species (spp.) at a time when the parasite is in its nonreplicative promastigote form. Neutrophils have also been detected at later stages of infection in unhealing chronic cutaneous lesions. However, the interactions between these cells and the replicative intracellular amastigote form of the parasite have been poorly studied. Here, we show that Leishmaniamexicana amastigotes are efficiently internalized by neutrophils and that this process has only a low impact on neutrophil activation and apoptosis. In neutrophils, the amastigotes were found in acidified vesicles. Furthermore, within cutaneous unhealing lesions, heavily infected neutrophils were found with up to 6 parasites per cell. To investigate if the amastigotes could replicate within neutrophils, we generated photoconvertible fluorescent parasites. With the use of flow cytometry imaging and time-lapse microscopy, we could demonstrate that a subset of parasites replicated within neutrophils. Overall, our data reveal a novel role for neutrophils that can act as a niche for parasite replication during the chronic phase of infection, thereby contributing to disease pathology.