RESUMO
The inhibitory nucleotide-regulatory protein (Gl) has been shown to lose its adenylate cyclase inhibitory effect upon treatment with pertussis toxin. To find out whether a pertussis sensitive mechanism is involved in the regulation of the cGMP-system, bovine mesenteric arteries were incubated in buffer containing pertussis toxin, and the relaxation and intracellular cGMP accumulation induced by different groups of vasodilating agents were studied. The present results show a pertussis toxin induced decrease in relaxation as well as a decrease in the cGMP-elevation induced by the endothelium dependent vasodilators acetylcholine and calcium ionophore A 23187. Arteries treated with atrial natriuretic peptide showed no alterations in relaxation or cGMP content after incubation with pertussis toxin. A 40 kD soluble ribosylation substrate for pertussis toxin was identified in bovine mesenteric artery. These results suggest that a pertussis toxin sensitive mechanism is involved in the vasodilating mechanism of acetylcholine and calcium ionophore A 23187, while no evidence for such a mechanism could be found regarding the vasodilatory action of atrial natriuretic peptide.
