Vascular CO counterbalances the sensitizing influence of 20-HETE on agonist-induced vasoconstriction.

We examined the influence of interactions between CO and 20-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (20-HETE) on vascular reactivity to phenylephrine and vasopressin. Renal interlobar arteries incubated in Krebs buffer released CO at a rate that is decreased (from 125.0+/-15.2 to 46.3+/-8.8 pmol/mg protein per hour, P<0.05) by the heme oxygenase inhibitor chromium mesoporphyrin (CrMP; 30 micromol/L). The level of 20-HETE in vessels was not affected by CrMP (74.3+/-6.1 versus 72.5+/-16.2 pmol/mg protein), but was decreased (P<0.05) by CO (1 micromol/L; 33.2+/-7.9 pmol/mg protein) or the cytochrome P450-4A inhibitor N-methylsulfonyl-12,12-dibromododec-11-enamide (DDMS; 30 micromol/L; 11.4+/-3.3 pmol/mg protein). Phenylephrine elicited development of isometric tension in vascular rings mounted on a wire-myograph (EC(50), 0.29+/-0.02 micromol/L; R(max), 3.78+/-0.19 mN/mm). The sensitivity to phenylephrine was decreased (P<0.05) by CO (1 micromol/L; EC(50), 0.60+/-0.04 micromol/L) or DDMS (EC(50), 0.71+/-0.12 micromol/L) and increased (P<0.05) by 20-HETE (10 micromol/L; EC(50), 0.08+/-0.02 micromol/L) or CrMP (EC(50), 0.11+/-0.02 micromol/L). Notably, neither CO nor CrMP changed the sensitivity to phenylephrine in vessels treated with DDMS. Refractoriness to CO and CrMP in such a setting was eliminated by inclusion of 20-HETE (1 micromol/L) in the bathing buffer. The aforementioned interventions affected the vascular reactivity to vasopressin in a similar manner. These data indicate that the reactivity of renal arteries to phenylephrine and vasopressin is reciprocally influenced by CO and 20-HETE of vascular origin and that CO desensitizes the vascular smooth muscle to constrictor agonists by interfering with the sensitizing influence of 20-HETE.

CO modulates pulmonary vascular response to acute hypoxia: relation to endothelin.

Pulmonary intralobar arteries express heme oxygenase (HO)-1 and -2 and release carbon monoxide (CO) during incubation in Krebs buffer. Acute hypoxia elicits isometric tension development (0.77 +/- 0.06 mN/mm) in pulmonary vascular rings treated with 15 micromol/l chromium mesoporphyrin (CrMP), an inhibitor of HO-dependent CO synthesis, but has no effect in untreated vessels. Acute hypoxia also induces contraction of pulmonary vessels taken from rats injected with HO-2 antisense oligodeoxynucleotides (ODN), which decrease pulmonary HO-2 vascular expression and CO release. Hypoxia-induced contraction of vessels treated with CrMP is attenuated (P < 0.05) by endothelium removal, by CO (1-100 micromol/l) in the bathing buffer, and by endothelin-1 (ET-1) receptor blockade with L-754142 (10 micromol/l). CrMP increases ET-1 levels in pulmonary intralobar arteries, particularly during incubation in hypooxygenated media. CrMP also causes a leftward shift in the concentration-response curve to ET-1, which is offset by exogenous CO. In anesthetized rats, pretreatment with CrMP (40 micromol/kg iv) intensifies the elevation of pulmonary artery pressure elicited by breathing a hypoxic gas mixture. However, acute hypoxia does not elicit augmentation of pulmonary arterial pressure in rats pretreated concurrently with CrMP and the ET-1 receptor antagonist L-745142 (15 mg/kg iv). These data suggest that a product of HO activity, most likely CO, inhibits hypoxia-induced pulmonary vasoconstriction by reducing ET-1 vascular levels and sensitivity.

Transfection of CYP4A1 cDNA increases vascular reactivity in renal interlobar arteries.

20-HETE, a cytochrome P-450 4A (CYP4A1)-derived arachidonic acid metabolite, is a major eicosanoid formed in renal and extrarenal microcirculation. 20-HETE inhibits Ca(2+)-activated K(+) channels in vascular smooth muscle cells and thereby may modulate vascular reactivity. We transfected renal interlobar arteries with an expression plasmid containing the cDNA of CYP4A1, the low-K(m) arachidonic acid omega-hydroxylase, and examined the consequences of increasing 20-HETE synthesis on constrictor responses to phenylephrine. CYP4A1-transfected interlobar arteries demonstrated a twofold increase in CYP4A protein levels and 20-HETE production compared with arteries transfected with the empty plasmid; they also showed increased sensitivity to phenylephrine, as evidenced by a decrease in EC(50) from 0.37 +/- 0.04 microM in plasmid-transfected arteries to 0.07 +/- 0.01 microM in CYP4A1-transfected arteries. The increased sensitivity to phenylephrine was greatly attenuated by N-methylsulfonyl-12,12-dibromododec-11-enamide (DDMS), a selective inhibitor of 20-HETE synthesis, and by 20-hydroxyeicosa-6(Z),15(Z)-dienoic acid, a specific 20-HETE antagonist. This effect of DDMS was reversed by addition of 20-HETE, further substantiating the notion that increased levels of 20-HETE contribute to the increased sensitivity to phenylephrine in vessels overexpressing CYP4A1. These data suggest that 20-HETE of vascular origin sensitizes renal vascular smooth muscle to phenylephrine.

Paradoxical overexpression and translocation of connexin43 in homocysteine-treated endothelial cells.

Hyperhomocysteinemia is an established cause of defective vasorelaxation. Gene expression screening of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) treated with homocysteine (Hcy) revealed that connexin43 (Cx43) was upregulated. Expression of Cx43 was increased more than twofold in Hcy-treated HUVEC. Gap junctional communication (Lucifer yellow and whole cell patch clamp) was not enhanced in Hcy-treated HUVEC. HUVEC expressing chimeric Cx43-green fluorescent protein exhibited it at cell-cell contacts in control but showed redistribution to the intracellular compartment(s) in Hcy-treated cells. Confocal microscopy of HUVEC stained with anti-Cx43, mitochondrial, and endoplasmic reticulum fluorescent markers showed the localization of Cx43 to the plasma membrane of control cells and its colocalization with the mitochondrial marker in Hcy-treated HUVEC. Studies of isolated mitochondria confirmed overexpression of Cx43 in the mitochondria of Hcy-treated HUVEC. Microdissected renal interlobar arteries, which normally exhibit endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor-induced vasorelaxation, showed reduced nitric oxide synthase- and cyclooxygenase-independent vasorelaxation to acetylcholine after pretreatment with Hcy. In summary, Hcy-induced upregulation of Cx43 transcript and protein expression are associated with unaltered intercellular communication, redistribution of Cx43 in HUVEC, and reduced nitric oxide- and prostanoid-independent vascular responses to acetylcholine in Hcy-treated arteries.