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Query: UMLS:C0004153 (atherosclerosis)
 77,401 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The endothelium mediates a number of responses (relaxation or contraction) of arteries and veins from animals and humans. The endothelium-dependent relaxations are due to the release, by endothelial cells, of potent non-prostanoid vasodilator substances. Among these, the best characterized is endothelium-derived relaxing factor (EDRF), which is believed to be nitric oxide (NO). Nitric oxide is formed by the metabolism of L-arginine by the constitutive NO synthase of endothelial cells. In arterial smooth muscle, the relaxation evoked by EDRF is explained by the stimulation by NO of soluble guanylate cyclase that leads to the accumulation of cGMP. In a number of animal blood vessels and in human coronary arteries, the endothelial cells release a substance that causes hyperpolarization of the cell membrane (endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor, EDHF). The release of EDRF from the endothelium can be mediated by both pertussis toxin-sensitive (alpha 2-adrenoceptor activation, serotonin, aggregating platelets, leukotrienes) and insensitive (adenosine diphosphate (ADP), bradykinin) G proteins. In blood vessels from animals with regenerated and reperfused endothelium, and/or atherosclerosis, there is a selective loss of the pertussin toxin-sensitive mechanism of EDRF release, which favours the occurrence of vasospasm, thrombosis and cellular growth. The available information from isolated human blood vessels or obtained in situ concurs with the conclusions reached from studies with isolated animal tissues. In addition to relaxing factors, the endothelial cells can produce contracting factors (endothelium-derived contracting factors; EDCFs) which include superoxide anions, endoperoxides, thromboxane A2 and endothelin. From animal studies it can be concluded that the propensity to release EDCFs is maintained, or even augmented, in diseased blood vessels. The switch from a normally predominant release of EDRFs to that of EDCFs may play a crucial role in atherosclerosis.
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PMID:Endothelial dysfunction and atherosclerosis. 940 68

L-arginine, the precursor of endogenous nitric oxide (NO), has been shown to enhance endothelial function and to reduce the progression of atherosclerosis in cholesterol-fed rabbits. In the present study, we investigated whether myointimal cell proliferation is enhanced in hypercholesterolaemic rabbit aorta and whether chronic treatment of the rabbits with L-arginine or with the NO synthase inhibitor L-NAME influences this proliferative response and vascular monocyte accumulation. Rabbits were fed 1% cholesterol or normal rabbit chow for 12 weeks. Subgroups of cholesterol-fed rabbits were treated with oral L-arginine (2.25%) or L-NAME (3 mg/dl) in drinking water. Myointimal cell proliferation was quantified in aortic segments by immunohistochemical detection of bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) incorporation into nuclear DNA; vascular monocyte accumulation was assessed by immunohistochemistry using a monoclonal anti-macrophage/monocyte antibody (RAM-11). Plasma levels of L-arginine and the endogenous NO synthase inhibitor, ADMA, were quantified by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Cholesterol feeding increased the aortic intima/media (I/M) ratio, which was not measurable in the control group, to 1.9 +/- 0.3. This was paralleled by enhanced cell proliferation (cholesterol, 2.4 +/- 0.2%; P < 0.05; control, 0.02 +/- 0.001% BrdU-positive cells per 72 h) and vascular monocyte accumulation. Double immunostaining for BrdU and alpha-actin showed that about two thirds of the proliferating cells were smooth muscle cells. ADMA levels increased from 0.8 +/- 0.1 micromol/l to 2.2 +/- 0.2 micromol/l in cholesterol-fed rabbits, but were unchanged by L-arginine or L-NAME treatment. Myointimal proliferation and intima/media ratios were correlated with ADMA plasma levels. Dietary L-arginine reduced monocyte accumulation by 85 +/- 2% (P < 0.05 vs cholesterol), myointimal cell proliferation (1.8 +/- 0.3% per 72 h; P < 0.05) and intimal thickening (I/M ratio: 0.7 +/- 0.2), whereas the inhibitor of NO synthase, L-NAME, further increased cell proliferation to 3.1 +/- 0.4% per 72 h (P < 0.05). No significant difference was observed in vascular monocyte infiltration between the cholesterol and L-NAME groups. We conclude that cell proliferation and vascular monocyte accumulation are enhanced in hypercholesterolaemic rabbit aorta. These atherogenic effects can be attenuated by dietary L-arginine. Decreased NO formation might underlie the enhanced monocyte accumulation and cell proliferation in hypercholesterolaemic rabbit aorta. The observed inhibition of cell proliferation adds to our understanding of the antiatherosclerotic effects of L-arginine in vivo.
Atherosclerosis 1998 Jan
PMID:Dietary L-arginine decreases myointimal cell proliferation and vascular monocyte accumulation in cholesterol-fed rabbits. 954 33

This review introduces recent progress in molecular genetics of cardiovascular diseases. Many genes and their mutations causing familial cardiovascular diseases have been discovered, including familial hypertrophic cardiomyopathy which is caused by mutated cardiac beta myosin heavy chain, light chains, troponin T, troponin I, or alpha-tropomyosin, and long QT syndrome by KvLQT1, HERG, minK or cardiac voltage-dependent Na channel mutation. The mutations in causative genes can affect clinical courses of diseases; amino acid substitutions of cardiac beta myosin heavy chain with charge changes seem to cause poorer prognosis of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Besides monogenic diseases, there are many cardiovascular diseases affected with genetic polymorphisms, such as hypertension, ischemic heart disease and atherosclerosis. Specific amino acid mutations or polymorphisms in the promoter region of the genes are known to become a risk factor of these diseases. Polymorphisms of genes encoding apolipoprotein E, angiotensin converting enzyme, angiotensinogen and endothelial NO synthase (ecNOS) have been well characterized as an important risk factor of cardiovascular diseases. We recently found a novel gene which seems to affect human aging phenotype and vascular endothelial function. It is important as a future study to clarify the regulatory mechanisms of the klotho gene in the cardiovascular system and the clinical significance of klotho gene polymorphisms.
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PMID:[Molecular genetics of cardiovascular diseases]. 956 64

Nitric oxide (NO) is the main agent of communication between the endothelium and the smooth muscle, involved in vasodilatation. Its vasodilator action requires prior tonic contraction of smooth muscle cells, related to vasoactive agents such as catecholamines or angiotensin II-induced centripetal communications and pharmaco-mechanical coupling. In physiological conditions, NO is liberated following constitutive endothelial NO synthase activity in response to shear stress generated by the dynamics of blood on the arterial wall. Endothelial dysfunction modifying NO production is implicated in different cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension, congestive heart failure and atherosclerosis.
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PMID:[Role of endothelial nitric oxide in the regulation of arterial tone]. 961 14

Endothelial dysfunction associated with atherosclerosis has been attributed to alterations in the L-arginine-nitric oxide (NO)-cGMP pathway or to an excess of endothelin-1 (ET-1). The 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitors (statins) have been shown to ameliorate endothelial function. However, the physiological basis of this observation is largely unknown. We investigated the effects of Atorvastatin and Simvastatin on the pre-proET-1 mRNA expression and ET-1 synthesis and on the endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) transcript and protein levels in bovine aortic endothelial cells. These agents inhibited pre-proET-1 mRNA expression in a concentration- and time-dependent fashion (60-70% maximum inhibition) and reduced immunoreactive ET-1 levels (25-50%). This inhibitory effect was maintained in the presence of oxidized LDL (1-50 microg/ml). No significant modification of pre-proET-1 mRNA half-life was observed. In addition, mevalonate, but not cholesterol, reversed the statin-mediated decrease of pre-proET-1 mRNA levels. eNOS mRNA expression was reduced by oxidized LDL in a dose-dependent fashion (up to 57% inhibition), whereas native LDL had no effect. Statins were able to prevent the inhibitory action exerted by oxidized LDL on eNOS mRNA and protein levels. Hence, these drugs might influence vascular tone by modulating the expression of endothelial vasoactive factors.
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PMID:Effects of the 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase inhibitors, atorvastatin and simvastatin, on the expression of endothelin-1 and endothelial nitric oxide synthase in vascular endothelial cells. 963 5

Nitric oxide (NO) synthase induction in vascular smooth muscle cells may play a role in local vascular injury associated with atherosclerosis or postangioplasty restenosis by inhibiting smooth muscle cell proliferation and contraction, as well as by preventing leukocyte and platelet adhesion. The expression of inducible NO synthase is increased in balloon-injured arteries of experimental animals or in human atherosclerotic lesions. Replacement therapy with NO donors or NO synthase gene transfer may improve the clinical course of atherosclerosis or restenosis.
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PMID:Inducible nitric oxide synthase and atherosclerosis. 966 55

Oxidized LDLs (Ox-LDLs) inhibit endothelium-dependent dilation of isolated conduit arteries in a manner comparable to the impairment demonstrated in atherosclerotic vessels. However, it is not known whether the microvessels, which do not develop atherosclerotic lesions, are susceptible to Ox-LDL. Since endothelial release of NO plays an important role in vasodilation and since its dysfunction associated with atherosclerosis has been shown to extend into the coronary microcirculation, we hypothesized that Ox-LDLs impair endothelium-dependent vasodilation of coronary arterioles by reducing the synthesis and/or release of NO. To test this hypothesis, porcine subepicardial vessels (50 to 100 microm) were isolated, cannulated, and pressurized to 60 cm H2O without flow for in vitro study. Isolated vessels developed basal tone and dilated in a dose-dependent manner to the endothelium-dependent vasodilators serotonin, ATP, and ionomycin. These vasodilatory responses were inhibited by the NO synthase inhibitor NG-monomethyl-L-arginine and were subsequently reversed by extraluminal administration of the NO precursor L-arginine (3 mmol/L), suggesting the involvement of NO in these vasomotor responses. Intraluminal incubation of the vessels with native LDL (N-LDL) or Ox-LDL (1 mg protein/mL) significantly attenuated dilations to serotonin, ATP, and ionomycin. Ox-LDL produced more severe inhibition than did N-LDL, and the inhibitory effect was comparable to that of NG-monomethyl-L-arginine. The inhibitory effects of N-LDL and Ox-LDL were reversed by exogenous L-arginine (3 mmol/L) and were prevented by sodium dihydroxybenzene disulfonate (Tiron), a cell-permeable superoxide scavenger. In contrast, administration of the cell-impermeable superoxide scavenger superoxide dismutase prevented the inhibitory effect of N-LDL but not of Ox-LDL. In addition, the inhibitory effects of LDL were not restored by D-arginine or by removal of intraluminal LDL. Neither N-LDL nor Ox-LDL altered endothelium-independent vasodilation to sodium nitroprusside. These results indicate that coronary arterioles are susceptible to LDLs that specifically impair endothelium-dependent vasodilation by reducing NO synthesis. It is suggested that the initiation of superoxide anion production and the subsequent L-arginine deficiency may be responsible for the detrimental effect of LDL.
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PMID:LDLs impair vasomotor function of the coronary microcirculation: role of superoxide anions. 972 97

Cell-surface expression of endothelial P-selectin increases adhesion and migration of leukocytes and thus may participate in the pathogenesis of reperfusion injury and atherosclerosis. Angiotensin II (Ang II) is also thought to be involved in such disease states. Nitric oxide (NO) downregulates P-selectin expression, and bradykinin (BK) is known to stimulate NO release from endothelial cells. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of 10-min stimulation of cultured human umbilical endothelial cells (HUVECs) with Ang II, BK, or both on P-selectin expression. Ang II (10(-9)-10(-5) M) stimulated P-selectin expression in a concentration-dependent manner, exhibiting a significant effect at 10(-7) M and reaching a plateau at 5 x 10(-5) M. Pretreatment of HUVECs with the AT1 antagonist losartan and the AT1/AT2 antagonist saralasin but not the AT2 antagonist PD123319 (all at 10(-5) M) markedly attenuated the effect of 10(-7) M Ang II. The effects of Ang II on P-selectin expression were not affected by the presence of the NO synthase inhibitor nitro-L-arginine (L-NA, 5 x 10(-4) M) but were abolished by pretreatment with superoxide dismutase (SOD). BK (10(-6) M) abolished the effects of 10(-7) M Ang II on P-selectin expression but did not affect P-selectin expression induced by desmopressin (0.01-10 microM). L-NA obliterated the blunting effect of BK on the Ang II-induced P-selectin membrane expression. BK alone slightly stimulated P-selectin expression, but in the presence of L-NA, BK markedly enhanced P-selectin expression. The effects of BK in the presence of NA were not altered by SOD, indicating that at difference with Ang II, it acts by a mechanism other than superoxide generation. Thus, Ang II acting on AT1 receptors stimulates superoxide generation, which, in turn, induces expression of P-selectin on the endothelial cell surface. BK inhibits the effects of Ang II, likely acting via NO. We conclude that the balance between Ang II, BK, and NO can regulate P-selectin expression on the endothelial cell membrane, an important component of the cascade leading to leukocyte adhesion to the vascular endothelium.
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PMID:Angiotensin II and bradykinin regulate the expression of P-selectin on the surface of endothelial cells in culture. 975 92

Pycnogenol (P) is purported to exhibit effects that could be beneficial in terms of prevention of chronic age-related diseases such as atherosclerosis. The most studied of these effects is its antioxidant/free radical-scavenging activity. In this study, we investigated the possibility that this supplement might produce vascular effects by stimulation of nitric oxide (NO) production by vascular endothelial cells. In the in vitro experiments, P (1-10 microg/ml) relaxed epinephrine (E)-, norepinephrine (NE)-, and phenylephrine (PE)-contracted intact rat aortic ring preparations in a concentration-dependent manner. However, when the endothelial lining of the aortic ring was removed, P had no effect, indicating an endothelium-dependent relaxing (EDR) effect. This EDR response was caused by enhanced NO levels, because the NO synthase (NOS) inhibitor N-methyl-L-arginine (NMA) reversed (or prevented) the relaxation, and this response, in turn, was reversed by addition of L-arginine, the normal substrate for NOS. Pycnogenol-induced EDR persisted after exposure of intact rings to high levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD), suggesting that the mechanism of EDR did not involve scavenging of superoxide anion. In addition to causing relaxation, preincubation of aortic rings with P (1-10 microg/ml) inhibited subsequent E- and NE-induced contractions in a concentration-dependent manner. Fractionation of P by Sephadex LH-20 chromatography resulted in three fractions, one of which (fraction 3, oligomeric procyanidins) exhibited potent EDR activity. These results indicate that P, in addition to its antioxidant activity, stimulates constitutive endothelial NOS (eNOS) activity to increase NO levels, which could counteract the vasoconstrictor effects of E and NE. Furthermore, additional protective effects could result from the well-established properties of NO to decrease platelet aggregation and adhesion, as well as to inhibit low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol oxidation, all of which could protect against atherogenesis and thrombus formation.
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PMID:Endothelium-dependent vascular effects of Pycnogenol. 978 17

The endothelium plays an obligatory role in a number of relaxations of isolated arteries. These endothelium-dependent relaxations are due to the release by the endothelial cells of potent vasodilator substances [endothelium-derived relaxing factors (EDRF)]. The best characterized EDRF is nitric oxide (NO). Nitric oxide is formed by the metabolism of L-arginine by the constitutive NO synthase of endothelial cells. In arterial smooth muscle, the relaxations evoked by EDRF are explained best by the stimulation by NO of soluble guanylate cyclase that leads to the accumulation of cyclic GMP. The endothelial cells also release an unidentified substance that causes hyperpolarization of the cell membrane (endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor, EDHF). The release of EDRF from the endothelium can be mediated by both pertussis toxin-sensitive (alpha2-adrenergic activation, serotonin, thrombin, aggregating platelets) and insensitive (adenosine diphosphate, bradykinin) G-proteins. In blood vessels from animals with regenerated endothelium, and/or atherosclerosis, there is a selective loss of the pertussis-toxin sensitive mechanism of EDRF-release which favors the occurrence of vasospasm, thrombosis and cellular growth.
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PMID:Endothelial dysfunction and vascular disease. 980 82


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