Lipid emulsion inhibits vasodilation induced by a toxic dose of bupivacaine by suppressing bupivacaine-induced PKC and CPI-17 dephosphorylation but has no effect on vasodilation induced by a toxic dose of mepivacaine.

BACKGROUND: The goal of this in vitro study was to investigate the effect of lipid emulsion on vasodilation caused by toxic doses of bupivacaine and mepivacaine during contraction induced by a protein kinase C (PKC) activator, phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate (PDBu), in an isolated endothelium-denuded rat aorta. METHODS: The effects of lipid emulsion on the dose-response curves induced by bupivacaine or mepivacaine in an isolated aorta precontracted with PDBu were assessed. In addition, the effects of bupivacaine on the increased intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i) and contraction induced by PDBu were investigated using fura-2 loaded aortic strips. Further, the effects of bupivacaine, the PKC inhibitor GF109203X and lipid emulsion, alone or in combination, on PDBu-induced PKC and phosphorylation-dependent inhibitory protein of myosin phosphatase (CPI-17) phosphorylation in rat aortic vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) was examined by western blotting. RESULTS: Lipid emulsion attenuated the vasodilation induced by bupivacaine, whereas it had no effect on that induced by mepivacaine. Lipid emulsion had no effect on PDBu-induced contraction. The magnitude of bupivacaine-induced vasodilation was higher than that of the bupivacaine-induced decrease in [Ca2+]i. PDBu promoted PKC and CPI-17 phosphorylation in aortic VSMCs. Bupivacaine and GF109203X attenuated PDBu-induced PKC and CPI-17 phosphorylation, whereas lipid emulsion attenuated bupivacaine-mediated inhibition of PDBu-induced PKC and CPI-17 phosphorylation. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that lipid emulsion attenuates the vasodilation induced by a toxic dose of bupivacaine via inhibition of bupivacaine-induced PKC and CPI-17 dephosphorylation. This lipid emulsion-mediated inhibition of vasodilation may be partly associated with the lipid solubility of local anesthetics.

Dexmedetomidine-Induced Contraction in the Isolated Endothelium-Denuded Rat Aorta Involves PKC-δ-mediated JNK Phosphorylation.

Vasoconstriction mediated by the highly selective alpha-2 adrenoceptor agonist dexmedetomidine leads to transiently increased blood pressure and severe hypertension. The dexmedetomidine-induced contraction involves the protein kinase C (PKC)-mediated pathway. However, the main PKC isoform involved in the dexmedetomidine-induced contraction remains unknown. The goal of this in vitro study was to examine the specific PKC isoform that contributes to the dexmedetomidine-induced contraction in the isolated rat aorta. The endothelium-denuded rat aorta was suspended for isometric tension recording. Dexmedetomidine dose-response curves were generated in the presence or absence of the following inhibitors: the pan-PKC inhibitor, chelerythrine; the PKC-α and -ß inhibitor, Go6976; the PKC-α inhibitor, safingol; the PKC-ß inhibitor, ruboxistaurin; the PKC-δ inhibitor, rottlerin; the c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK) inhibitor, SP600125; and the myosin light chain kinase inhibitor, ML-7 hydrochloride. Western blot analysis was used to examine the effect of rottlerin on dexmedetomidine-induced PKC-δ expression and JNK phosphorylation in rat aortic vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) and to investigate the effect of dexmedetomidine on PKC-δ expression in VSMCs transfected with PKC-δ small interfering RNA (siRNA) or control siRNA. Chelerythrine as well as SP600125 and ML-7 hydrochloride attenuated the dexmedetomidine-induced contraction. Go6976, safingol, and ruboxistaurin had no effect on the dexmedetomidine-induced contraction, whereas rottlerin inhibited the dexmedetomidine-induced contraction. Dexmedetomidine induced PKC-δ expression, whereas rottlerin and PKC-δ siRNA transfection inhibited dexmedetomidine-induced PKC-δ expression. Dexmedetomidine also induced JNK phosphorylation, which was inhibited by rottlerin. Taken together, these results suggest that the dexmedetomidine-induced contraction involves PKC-δ-dependent JNK phosphorylation in the isolated rat aorta.

Lipid Emulsion Attenuates Acetylcholine-Induced Relaxation in Isolated Rat Aorta.

We investigated the effect of Lipofundin MCT/LCT and Intralipid on acetylcholine-induced nitric oxide- (NO-) mediated relaxation in rat aorta to determine which lipid emulsion (LE) is more potent in terms of inhibition of NO-induced relaxation. Dose-response curves of responses induced by acetylcholine, the calcium ionophore A23187, and sodium nitroprusside were generated using isolated rat aorta with or without LE. The effect of Lipofundin MCT/LCT on acetylcholine-induced endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) phosphorylation in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) was investigated using western blotting. Lipofundin MCT/LCT (0.1 and 0.2%) attenuated acetylcholine-induced relaxation in endothelium-intact aorta with or without tiron, whereas 0.2% Intralipid only inhibited relaxation. Lipofundin MCT/LCT inhibited relaxation induced by the calcium ionophore A23187 and sodium nitroprusside in endothelium-intact aorta, but Lipofundin MCT/LCT had no effect on sodium nitroprusside-induced relaxation in the endothelium-denuded aorta. Combined pretreatment with l-arginine plus Lipofundin MCT/LCT increased acetylcholine-induced maximal relaxation in endothelium-intact aorta compared with Lipofundin MCT/LCT alone. L-Arginine attenuated Lipofundin MCT/LCT-mediated inhibition of acetylcholine-induced eNOS phosphorylation in HUVECs. Taken together, Lipofundin MCT/LCT attenuated acetylcholine-induced NO-mediated relaxation via an inhibitory effect on the endothelium including eNOS, which is proximal to activation of guanylyl cyclase.

Dexmedetomidine-induced contraction involves phosphorylation of caldesmon by JNK in endothelium-denuded rat aortas.

Caldesmon, an inhibitory actin binding protein, binds to actin and inhibits actin-myosin interactions, whereas caldesmon phosphorylation reverses the inhibitory effect of caldesmon on actin-myosin interactions, potentially leading to enhanced contraction. The goal of this study was to investigate the cellular signaling pathway responsible for caldesmon phosphorylation, which is involved in the regulation of the contraction induced by dexmedetomidine (DMT), an alpha-2 adrenoceptor agonist, in endothelium-denuded rat aortas. SP600125 (a c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase [JNK] inhibitor) dose-response curves were generated in aortas that were pre-contracted with DMT or phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate (PDBu), a protein kinase C (PKC) activator. Dose-response curves to the PKC inhibitor chelerythrine were generated in rat aortas pre-contracted with DMT. The effects of SP600125 and rauwolscine (an alpha-2 adrenoceptor inhibitor) on DMT-induced caldesmon phosphorylation in rat aortic vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) were investigated by western blot analysis. PDBu-induced caldesmon and DMT-induced PKC phosphorylation in rat aortic VSMCs was investigated by western blot analysis. The effects of GF109203X (a PKC inhibitor) on DMT- or PDBu-induced JNK phosphorylation in VSMCs were assessed. SP600125 resulted in the relaxation of aortas that were pre-contracted with DMT or PDBu, whereas rauwolscine attenuated DMT-induced contraction. Chelerythrine resulted in the vasodilation of aortas pre-contracted with DMT. SP600125 and rauwolscine inhibited DMT-induced caldesmon phosphorylation. Additionally, PDBu induced caldesmon phosphorylation, and GF109203X attenuated the JNK phosphorylation induced by DMT or PDBu. DMT induced PKC phosphorylation in rat aortic VSMCs. These results suggest that alpha-2 adrenoceptor-mediated, DMT-induced contraction involves caldesmon phosphorylation that is mediated by JNK phosphorylation by PKC.