Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: EC:4.6.1.2 (guanylate cyclase)
 8,497 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Increasing evidence suggests that organic nitrate action derives from their metabolic conversion to nitric oxide (NO) in the vascular smooth muscle cell. The primary catalytic activity of this process appears to reside at the cellular plasma membrane. There is no concrete evidence to indicate that NO formation is preceded by the production of inorganic nitrite ion or that the NO produced needs to form S-nitrosothiols before it can activate guanylate cyclase to produce cyclic guanosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cGMP). Although sulfhydryl donors can partially reverse nitroglycerin-induced tolerance in patients, this phenomenon (by itself) is not sufficient to implicate intracellular sulfhydryl depletion as an operating mechanism of clinical nitrate tolerance. This is because sulfhydryl donors can react with nitroglycerin extracellularly to form S-nitrosothiols, and nonsulfhydryl compounds, such as enalapril and hydralazine, can prevent the development of in vivo nitrate tolerance. In addition to the cellular biochemical reactions, organic nitrates also produce systemic biochemical effects through altering neurohormonal status. These systemic effects may contribute significantly to the development of nitrate tolerance in therapeutic situations.
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PMID:Biochemical mechanism of organic nitrate action. 152 25

Because of recent evidence indicating that hormone regulation of particulate guanylate cyclase in the eye may modulate aqueous humor dynamics, we have investigated the possibility that exogenous activators of soluble guanylate cyclase may be useful in altering intraocular pressure (IOP). A variety of nitrovasodilators known to activate guanylate cyclase were evaluated for their topical effects on IOP, outflow resistance and systemic cardiovascular parameters. In both young and older rabbits, topically applied nitroglycerin (0.003-0.1 g %) rapidly lowered IOP in a dose-dependent fashion, with a peak effect at 1 to 2 hr. Topically applied 0.1% isosorbide dinitrate, sodium nitrite, hydralazine, minoxidil and sodium nitroprusside mimicked the ocular hypotensive actions of nitroglycerin. Ipsilateral effects on IOP were greater than contralateral effects and, at the doses applied, there was little or no alteration in heart rate or systemic blood pressure, or signs of ocular irritation. Higher doses (0.5-2.0 g %) of nitroglycerin, hydralazine and sodium nitroprusside were less effective in lowering IOP. Topically applied molsidomine (0.1%), a prodrug which requires hepatic metabolism to 3-morpholino-sydnonimin hydrochloride for guanylate cyclase stimulatory activity, was ineffective in lowering IOP, whereas topical 0.1% 3-morpholino-sydnonimin hydrochloride was effective. After chronic administration, rabbits receiving nitroglycerin showed diminished ocular response, whereas repeated doses of hydralazine (56 days) did not elicit tolerance. Tonographic studies showed that topically applied nitroglycerin and hydralazine increased the facility (decreased the resistance) of aqueous humor leaving the eye. These data indicate that topically applied nitrovasodilators can effectively lower IOP at doses which have little effect on systemic blood pressure. Because these IOP-lowering effects appear to result, to a significant degree, from local actions on the eye, further investigation of these agents in conditions of elevated intraocular pressure may be warranted.
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PMID:Nitrovasodilators as a new class of ocular hypotensive agents. 153 35

The cerebral vasodilator response induced by topical nitroglycerin and nitroprusside was examined in cats equipped with cranial windows for the observation of the cerebral microcirculation. In cats subjected to chronic unilateral trigeminal ganglionectomy, the vasodilator responses to nitroprusside and nitroglycerin were markedly depressed on the denervated side. Application of a selective calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) antagonist [CGRP(8-37)] on the innervated side reduced the response to nitrodilators to the same extent as seen on the denervated side. The vasodilator response to acetylcholine was unaffected by trigeminal ganglionectomy. CGRP(8-37) almost abolished the vasodilator response to nitroglycerin and sodium nitroprusside and to CGRP, but did not affect the response to adenosine or to adenosine diphosphate. Pretreatment with LY83583, a drug that lowers cyclic GMP levels, diminished the vasodilation to CGRP and to nitroprusside but not to adenosine. We conclude that the nitrovasodilators activate sensory fibers to release CGRP, which in turn relaxes cerebral vascular smooth muscle by activating guanylate cyclase. Hence, nitrovasodilators possess a novel mechanism of action within the cephalic circulation which may explain both the occurrence of vasodilation and headache.
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PMID:Calcitonin gene-related peptide mediates nitroglycerin and sodium nitroprusside-induced vasodilation in feline cerebral arterioles. 157 43

We believe that the mechanisms through which nitric oxide and guanylate cyclase produce relaxation are fully functional in cerebral arteries at term in the fetal sheep and probably also in the term human infant. The relation between cGMP levels and the degree of relaxation varies both with age and with the relaxant used in a vessel specific manner. The factors underlying this variability constitute a fruitful area for future research and include possible age-related changes in membrane potential, calcium channel density and currents, and the participation of cGMP-independent mechanisms, to name only a few. Between fetal and newborn life, the biotransformation of nitroglycerin appears to improve significantly, particularly in the smaller more distal cerebral arteries. This improvement may be a clue to other important vascular metabolic and enzymatic changes that occur during the perinatal period. At the endothelial level, responses to A23187, an index of maximum endothelial vasodilator capacity, are relatively stable across the perinatal period and do not change consistently with age across all arteries. More importantly, large arteries, such as the common carotid, appear to relax better than the smaller cerebral arteries, and this difference is greater in fetal than in adult arteries. Responses to ADP disappear with age in the common carotid, but remain or even become enhanced in the cerebral arteries, thus illustrating the key role played by changes in receptor type and distribution in development and maturation.
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PMID:Developmental aspects of endothelial function. 164 68

Transmural electrical stimulation and nicotine produced a relaxation of dog cerebral artery strips denuded of endothelium, which was abolished by tetrodotoxin and hexamethonium, respectively, and also suppressed by treatment with NG-nitro-L-arginine (L-NA), a nitric oxide (NO) synthesis inhibitor. The inhibition was reversed by L-arginine but not by the D-enantiomer. L-NA also suppressed the endothelium-dependent relaxation by substance P but not the response to NO and nitroglycerin. Treatment with high concentrations of nitroglycerin or sodium nitroprusside markedly inhibited the relaxant response to nicotine, substance P and NO but not the response to papaverine. Slight, slowly developing relaxations caused by L-arginine in the endothelium-denuded arteries were not potentiated by repeated applications of the amino acid or by exposure of the strips for 24 hr to the bathing medium. Ca++ ionophore-induced contractions in the denuded strips were not potentiated by L-NA. Nicotine significantly increased the level of cyclic GMP in the arteries without endothelium; the increment was abolished by treatment with L-NA and hexamethonium. NO does not seem to be synthesized in smooth muscle in an amount sufficient to produce significant relaxation. It may be concluded that NO liberated from vasodilator nerves activates guanylate cyclase in smooth muscle and produces cyclic GMP, resulting in cerebroarterial relaxation.
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PMID:Role of nitric oxide in neurally induced cerebroarterial relaxation. 165 33

Nicorandil increases cyclic 3'5'-guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) in vascular smooth muscle. However, high concentrations are required to activate guanylate cyclase (GC). We examined the relationship between activation of GC, increases in cGMP and relaxation in canine mesenteric artery and vein, renal and coronary artery and thoracic aorta. Nicorandil (10-100 microM) relaxed in each of the blood vessels. Relaxation was associated with elevations of cGMP but independent of release of endothelium-derived relaxing factor, and inhibited by methylene blue and hemoglobin. The organic nitrate esters nitroglycerin, pentaerythritol tetranitrate, isosorbide dinitrate, 2-isosorbide mononitrate, and 5-isosorbide mononitrate each behaved in a similar manner. In each blood vessel pentaerythritol tetranitrate was the most potent and 5-isosorbide mononitrate the least potent relaxant and stimulant of cGMP. Each of the organic nitrate esters (1 microM to 1 mM) except nicorandil stimulated soluble GC activity in the presence of 10 mM cysteine. Nicorandil (EC50 38 mM) increased GC activity. Moreover, nicorandil (0.1 microM to 30 microM) did not inhibit cGMP phosphodiesterase. The EC50 for vascular relaxation was directly correlated with the EC50 for elevation of cGMP for each of the agonists in each blood vessel type. The EC50 for activation of GC was directly related to the reciprocal of the rate constant for nitric oxide formation for each of the organic nitrate esters. However, a direct correlation existed between the EC50 for activation of GC and the EC50 for 1) elevation of cGMP and 2) relaxation, for each of the organic nitrate esters except nicorandil. Thus, the high concentrations of nicorandil required to activate GC cannot account for the low concentrations required to elevate cGMP or relax smooth muscle. We postulate that nicorandil may interact with a membrane receptor or release a second messenger, distinct from nitric oxide or endothelium-derived relaxing factor, which then activates GC. This may represent a physiologic mechanism for regulation of GC activity in smooth muscle.
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PMID:Comparison of nicorandil-induced relaxation, elevations of cyclic guanosine monophosphate and stimulation of guanylate cyclase with organic nitrate esters. 167 47

1. The vasorelaxant effects of FK409, a new nitrovasodilator synthesized from a microbial product, were compared with those of nitroglycerin in isolated coronary artery rings of the dog contracted with U46619 (10(-7) M). 2. FK409 (10(-11)-10(-5) M) and nitroglycerin (10(-9)-10(-4) M) each produced a concentration-dependent relaxation. Comparison of EC50 values showed that FK409 was about 25 times more potent than nitroglycerin. 3. Submaximum concentrations of nitroglycerin (10(-6) M) and FK409 (3 x 10(-8) M) elevated guanosine 3':5'-cyclic monophosphate (cyclic GMP) levels, effects associated with vasorelaxation. Adenosine 3':5'-cyclic monophosphate (cyclic AMP) levels were unaffected. 4. The concentration-relaxation curves for nitroglycerin and FK409 were shifted to the right by methylene blue (3 x 10(-6) - 3 x 10(-5) M), an inhibitor of soluble guanylate cyclase, and to the left by M&B22,948 (3 x 10(-6) - 3 x 10(-5) M), an inhibitor of cyclic GMP phosphodiesterase. 5. After exposure of coronary arteries to the maximally-effective concentration of nitroglycerin (10(-4) M), the mean EC50 value of FK409 did not change significantly, although that of nitroglycerin increased about 60 fold. After exposure to the maximally-effective concentration of FK409 (10(-5) M), the mean EC50 value of FK409 increased about 6 fold and that of nitroglycerin about 11 fold. 6. These results suggest that the vasorelaxant effect of FK409, like that of nitroglycerin, is due to activation of soluble guanylate cyclase and a resultant increase in intracellular cyclic GMP. However, compared with nitroglycerin, there was less self-tolerance to the relaxant effects of FK409 and relatively little cross-tolerance between the two agents.
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PMID:Comparison of the effects of the novel vasodilator FK409 with those of nitroglycerin in isolated coronary artery of the dog. 168 75

In endothelium-denuded rat aortic rings, the sustained contractile effects produced by endothelin-1 (ET-1; 3.2 nM) were concentration-dependently overcome by nicorandil, aprikalim (RP 52891), a specific K+ channel opener, and nitroglycerin, a stimulant of guanylate cyclase (EC50: 2.55 +/- 0.06, 0.37 +/- 0.05 and 0.3 +/- 0.008 microM respectively, n = 13-16/group). The decontractant activity of aprikalim was not affected by the guanylate cyclase inhibitor methylene blue (10 microM), whereas it was markedly antagonized by glibenclamide (1 microM) (pKB: 7.19 +/- 0.15), an antagonist of ATP-gated K+ channels in pancreatic beta cells. This sulfonylurea failed to modify nitroglycerin-induced effects, but slightly reduced (10-15%) those produced by high concentrations of nicorandil. By contrast, methylene blue significantly displaced (4-fold) the control concentration-vasorelaxant response curves obtained with nitroglycerin and nicorandil. Zaprinast (20 microM), an inhibitor of soluble low Km cyclic GMP phosphodiesterase, enhanced the effects of nitroglycerin and nicorandil but did not alter those of aprikalim. Nicorandil relaxed ET-1-contracted rings from micropig left circumflex coronary artery with an EC50 of 24 +/- 2.8 microM (n = 7); this effect was antagonized by methylene blue (10 microM) and glibenclamide (3 microM) (2- and 4-fold dextral shift of the control concentration-response curve, respectively). In rat Langendorff-perfused heart with base-line coronary flow reduced by the addition of ET-1 to the perfusion medium, nicorandil and aprikalim increased coronary flow, while nitroglycerin did not. The vasodilator effects of the two compounds were also inhibited by glibenclamide (pKB congruent to 7).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Nicorandil: differential contribution of K+ channel opening and guanylate cyclase stimulation to its vasorelaxant effects on various endothelin-1-contracted arterial preparations. Comparison to aprikalim (RP 52891) and nitroglycerin. 168 78

All nitrovasodilators act intracellularly by a common molecular mechanism. This is characterized by the release of nitric oxide (NO). They are, thus, prodrugs or carriers of the active principle NO, responsible for endothelial controlled vasodilation. The rate of NO-formation strongly correlates with the activation of the soluble guanylate cyclase in vitro, resulting in a stimulation of cGMP synthesis. Nitrovasodilators thus are therapeutic substitutes for endogenous EDRF/NO. The pathways of bioactivation, nevertheless, differ substantially, depending on the individual chemistry of the nitrovasodilator. Besides NO, numerous other reaction products such as nitrite and nitrate anions are formed. The guanylate cyclase is only activated if NO is liberated. In the case of organic nitrates such as GTN, NO is only formed if certain thiol compounds are present as an essential cofactor. The rate of NO-formation correlates with the number of nitrate ester groups and proceeds with a simultaneous nitrite formation (with a ratio of 1:14 in the presence of cysteine). Nitrosamines such as molsidomine do not need thiol compounds for bioactivation. They directly liberate NO from the ring-open A-forms. This process basically depends on the presence of oxygen as electron acceptor from the sydnonimine molecule. Therefore, besides NO also superoxide radicals are formed, which may react with the generated NO under formation of nitrate ions. Organic nitrites (such as amyl nitrite) require the preceding interaction with a mercapto group to form a S-nitrosothiol intermediate, from which finally NO radicals are liberated. Nitrosothiols (like S-nitroso-acetyl-penicillamine) and sodium nitroprusside spontaneously release NO. The molecules themselves do not possess a direct enzyme activating potency. In the presence of thiol compounds organic nitrites (e.g., amyl nitrite) and nitrosothiols may act as intermediary products of NO generation.
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PMID:Molecular mechanisms of nitrovasodilator bioactivation. 168 27

SIN1 (the active metabolite of molsidomine), nitroglycerin, and endothelium-derived relaxing factor (EDRF) produce vasodilation by activation of soluble guanylate cyclase. Therefore, prolonged exposure to SIN1 might affect not only the responses to SIN1 itself and to nitroglycerin but also to EDRF. In vivo treatment of rats consisted of subcutaneous injections of either SIN1 (60 mg/kg) for the treated group or placebo for the control group, twice daily for 3 days. Thoracic aortas from the treated group were threefold and sixfold less sensitive to nitroglycerin and SIN1, respectively. The endothelium-dependent relaxations to acetylcholine were, nevertheless, similar in both groups. Moreover, the concentration-response curves to phenylephrine, which are known to be modulated by the endothelium, were similar in both groups. In addition, incubation with methylene blue (10 microM for 30 min), which blocks the vasodilator action of EDRF, potentiated in the same way the contractions to this alpha-adrenergic agonist. The increase in resting tone induced by methylene blue incubation was also equivalent in the two groups. The present results show that SIN1 treatment for several days in rats is associated with slight tolerance development not only to SIN1 itself but also to nitroglycerin, while the endothelial function remains operative. We conclude that the mechanisms involved in the activation of guanylate cyclase by SIN1 and nitroglycerin are probably different than those of EDRF-mediated responses.
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PMID:Effects of in vivo SIN1 treatment on nitrovasodilator relaxation and on EDRF-mediated responses in rat aorta. 170 6


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