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Query: UMLS:C0020538 (hypertension)
 170,190 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Cyclic AMP levels and protein kinase activity were determined in the aortas of rats with normotension, moderate and severe spontaneous hypertension. While the cyclic AMP levels were reduced in the aortas from rats with moderate and sever hypertension the protein kinase levels were found to be elevated only in the aortas from rats with severe hypertension. We have grown in tissue culture, aortic smooth muscle cells from the normotensive and severely hypertensive rat. Cultured cells from both strains have similar growth patterns and morphology. The differences seen in cyclic AMP and protein kinase levels in the intact aortas are also seen in the aortic smooth muscle cells in cluture.
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PMID:Cyclic AMP and protein kinase in the spontaneously hypertensive rat aorta and tissue-cultured aortic smooth muscle cells. 18 60

The primary mechanism of regulation of smooth muscle contraction involves the phosphorylation of myosin catalyzed by Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent myosin light chain kinase. However, additional mechanisms, both Ca(2+)-dependent and Ca(2+)-independent, can modulate the contractile state of smooth muscle. Protein kinase C was first implicated in the regulation of smooth muscle contraction with the observation that phorbol esters induce slowly developing, sustained contractions. Protein kinase C occurs in at least four Ca(2+)-dependent (alpha, beta I, beta II, and gamma) and four Ca(2+)-independent (delta, epsilon, zeta, and eta) isoenzymes. Only the alpha, beta, epsilon, and zeta isoenzymes have been identified in smooth muscle. Both classes of isoenzymes have been implicated in the regulation of smooth muscle contraction. However, the physiologically important protein substrates of protein kinase C have not yet been identified. Specific isoenzymes may be activated by different contractile agonists, and individual isoenzymes exhibit some degree of substrate specificity. Prolonged activation of protein kinase C can result in its proteolysis to the constitutively active catalytic fragment protein kinase M, which would dissociate from the sarcolemma and phosphorylate proteins such as myosin that are inaccessible to membrane-bound protein kinase C. Protein kinase M induces relaxation of demembranated smooth muscle fibers contracted at submaximal Ca2+ concentrations. We suggest that protein kinase C plays two distinct roles in regulating smooth muscle contractility. Stimuli triggering phosphoinositide turnover or phosphatidylcholine hydrolysis induce translocation of protein kinase C (probably specific isoenzymes) to the sarcolemma, phosphorylation of protein, and a slow contraction. Prolonged association of the kinase with the membrane may lead to proteolysis and release into the cytosol of protein kinase M, resulting in myosin phosphorylation and relaxation.
Hypertension 1992 Nov
PMID:Protein kinase C of smooth muscle. 142 8

Intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i)-dependent activation of myosin light chain kinase and its phosphorylation of the 20-kd light chain of myosin is generally considered the primary mechanism responsible for regulation of contractile force in arterial smooth muscle. However, recent data suggest that the relation between [Ca2+]i and myosin light chain phosphorylation is variable and depends on the form of stimulation. The dependence of myosin phosphorylation on [Ca2+]i has been termed the "[Ca2+]i sensitivity of phosphorylation." The [Ca2+]i sensitivity of phosphorylation is "high" when relatively small increases in [Ca2+]i induce a large increase in myosin phosphorylation. Conversely, the [Ca2+]i sensitivity of phosphorylation is "low" when relatively large increases in [Ca2+]i are required to induce a small increase in myosin phosphorylation. There are two proposed mechanisms for changes in the [Ca2+]i sensitivity of phosphorylation: Ca(2+)-dependent decreases in the [Ca2+]i sensitivity of phosphorylation induced by phosphorylation of myosin light chain kinase by Ca(2+)-calmodulin protein kinase II and agonist-dependent increases in the [Ca2+]i sensitivity of phosphorylation by inhibition of a myosin light chain phosphatase. I will review the proposed mechanisms responsible for the regulation of [Ca2+]i and the [Ca2+]i sensitivity of phosphorylation in arterial smooth muscle.
Hypertension 1992 Aug
PMID:Regulation of contraction and relaxation in arterial smooth muscle. 163 54

This article describes investigations of several aspects of the molecular biology of the human renin gene and the three-dimensional structure of renin and its precursor, prorenin. Because of the importance of the RAS in hypertension, heart failure, renal failure, and possibly other disorders such as atherosclerosis, it is critical to understand the detailed control of this system. This control involves regulation at the transcriptional level, folding of prorenin, sorting of prorenin to a regulated pathway where it is proteolytically cleaved to renin and released in response to secretogogues, constitutive release of uncleaved prorenin, and nonproteolytic activation of prorenin. Currently there is great interest not only in the control of renin in the kidney, the sole source of circulating renin, but also at extrarenal sites where RAS activity may regulate cardiovascular functions. The renin gene was found to be expressed significantly in the renal juxtaglomerular cells and several other cell types. Most tissue culture cells did not express the gene; exceptions were cultured SK-LMS-1 cells and cAMP-stimulated human lung fibroblasts. Cultured human uterine-placental cells expressed the human renin gene at levels higher than in other cell types assessed. Renin mRNA had the same start site in the placental cells as the kidney and was regulated by calcium ionophores and cAMP. Thus, these cells provide primary nontransformed human cells to study the homologous human promoter. Transfected renin promoters showed cell type-specific expression and cAMP responsiveness in these cells in constructs containing as few as 102 bp of 5'-flanking DNA. DNA upstream from this appears to contain an inhibitory element(s) that may have some tissue specificity in its distribution. The cAMP response is not due to cAMP induction of a transcription factor that secondarily affects the renin promoter. A novel element may be involved, since the promoter does not contain a CRE element that mediates many cAMP responses, and the cells do not appear to respond to another known cAMP-responsive transcription factor, AP-2. Studies with transfected vectors expressing a mutant cAMP-responsive protein kinase A regulatory subunit suggest that cAMP is not responsible for basal renin promoter activity in the placental cells. By contrast, cAMP induces in essence gene activation in WI26VA4 transformed human lung fibroblasts in which renin mRNA levels increase by up to 150-fold in response to forskolin. Thus, cAMP may activate renin gene expression under certain circumstances and tissue-specific renin gene expression may be directed by more than one mechanism.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
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PMID:Molecular biology of human renin and its gene. 174 21

Considerable evidence suggests that protein kinase C activation participates in the regulation of vascular smooth muscle tone. The objective of the current study was to examine the relations between inhibition of protein kinase C (PKC) and myosin light-chain kinase (MLCK) and vasorelaxation and blood pressure regulation in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). Putative PKC inhibitors from two chemical classes, staurosporinelike (staurosporine and K252A) and isoquinolinesulfonamides (H7 and HA1004), were tested for their ability to 1) inhibit PKC and MLCK from SHR aorta, 2) relax isolated SHR aorta, and 3) lower blood pressure in conscious SHR. A rank order of potency for the inhibition of PKC and MLCK was established, with the staurosporinelike compounds (staurosporine PKC IC50 = 54 nM) clearly more potent than the isoquinolinesulfonamides (H7 PKC IC50 = 128 microM). The rank order of potency for inhibition of PKC was retained for inhibition of MLCK for all compounds. Staurosporine (EC50 = 75 nM) and H7 (EC50 = 2 microM) caused concentration-dependent relaxation of SHR aorta, but only staurosporine produced vasorelaxation at concentrations consistent with the inhibition of PKC or MLCK. Dose-dependent reductions in arterial pressure of SHR were demonstrated after intravenous injection of staurosporine and HA1004. A single intravenous injection of staurosporine (0.3 mg/kg) lowered blood pressure for more than 10 hours. Staurosporine also lowered blood pressure after oral administration. The depressor response to staurosporine was unaffected by sympathetic beta-adrenergic blockade. In conclusion, the vasorelaxant and antihypertensive actions of staurosporine in SHR are consistent with the inhibition of PKC but could also be equally related to inhibition of MLCK. Not all PKC inhibitors produce vasorelaxation and lower blood pressure. Moreover, the lack of correlation between in vitro vasodilation and PKC or MLCK inhibition for the isoquinolinesulfonamide protein kinase inhibitors H7 and HA1004 suggests that these agents do not cause vasorelaxation in SHR by inhibition of these enzymes.
Hypertension 1991 Jan
PMID:Protein kinase inhibitors and blood pressure control in spontaneously hypertensive rats. 198 86

The role of Ca2(+)-calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaM kinase II) in the central nervous system has been studied with special reference to the effect of CaM kinase II inhibitor on gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) release. We have used two different selective inhibitors of Ca2(+)-calmodulin-dependent enzymes such as a calmodulin antagonist, N-(6-aminohexyl)-5-chloro-1-naphthalene-sulfonamide (W-7), and a newly synthesized selective inhibitor of CaM kinase II, 1-[N,O-bis(1,5-isoquinolinesulfonyl)-N-methyl-L-tyrosyl]-4-phenylpipe raz ine (KN-62). N-[1-[P-(5-Isoquinolinesulfonyl)benzyl]-2-(4- phenylpiperazinyl)ethyl]-5-isoquinolinesulfonamide (KN-04), a derivative of KN-62, which has a much lower inhibitory activity on the enzyme, was also synthesized for use as a control. Although i.v. injection of the drugs did not produce any effect, infusion of W-7 or KN-62 into the 4th ventricle produce any effect, infusion of W-7 or KN-62 into the 4th ventricle of the rat caused hypertension and tachycardia, associated with the diminished rate of GABA release in cerebrospinal fluid. The ability of KN-62 to produce these effects was more potent than that of W-7. Intracisternal infusion of KN-04 influenced neither systemic blood pressure nor GABA release at the concentration up to 100 microM. The same order of potencies of three agents (KN-62 greater than W-7 much greater than KN-04) has been obtained in their effects on either in vitro CaM kinase II activity, the in vivo autonomic nervous system or the rate of GABA release.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Effect of a new Ca2(+)-calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II inhibitor on GABA release in cerebrospinal fluid of the rat. 238 87

The cytosolic free Ca2+ concentration [( Ca2+]i) was measured in cultured human umbilical vein smooth muscle cells using fura-2 as a Ca2+ indicator and microscopic digital image analysis system. Activation of cells with histamine and vasopressin resulted in a prompt though transient rise in [Ca2+]i 10- to 12-fold higher than the resting [Ca2+]i. The [Ca2+]i then declined rapidly during the first 30-40 seconds after hormonal stimulation and then gradually decreased to near resting levels in 2-3 minutes in the continued presence of hormones. The magnitude of the increase in peak [Ca2+]i was similar in buffered salt solution containing 1.8 mM Ca2+, zero Ca2+, and zero Ca2+ buffered salt solution containing 10 mM La3+, suggesting that receptor-mediated increase in [Ca2+]i is primarily due to the release of Ca2+ from the intracellular stores. Addition of La3+ produced oscillations in [Ca2+]i in approximately half the cells in response to both hormones. Addition of 10 microM forskolin did not significantly affect the resting [Ca2+]i, the hormone-stimulated peak [Ca2+]i, or the time course of hormone-stimulated [Ca2+]i transients. These data suggest that mechanisms involved in A-kinase-mediated smooth muscle relaxation may be subsequent to the changes in [Ca2+]i. Activation of C-kinase by 1 microM 12 deoxyphorbol 13-isobutyrate-20 acetate (DPBA) did not affect the resting [Ca2+]i, though it attenuated the histamine and vasopressin-mediated peak elevation in [Ca2+]i. Since DPBA inhibited the peak [Ca2+]i response to both the hormones to the same extent, it would appear that C-kinase activation may uncouple the receptor-mediated activation of phospholipase C.
Hypertension 1989 Jun
PMID:Regulation of cytosolic free Ca2+ concentration in vascular smooth muscle cells by A- and C-kinases. 273 23

A model of angiotensin II action has been developed in which the flow of information from cell surface to cell interior proceeds by two temporally distinct branches: a calmodulin branch largely responsible for initiating the response; and a C-kinase branch for sustaining it. There are at least two initial events: a prompt and sustained increase in calcium influx rate, and prompt hydrolysis of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate. The latter leads to the generation of water-soluble inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate and lipid soluble diacylglycerol. The rise in inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate concentration causes the redistribution of intracellular calcium, a transient rise in the calcium concentration in the cytosol, and the activation of calmodulin-dependent enzymes, including protein kinase(s). As a result, several cellular proteins are rapidly phosphorylated and initiate the cellular response. The rise in calcium and these initial phosphorylation events are transient, however, so that an additional mechanism is necessary to sustain the response. The rise in diacylglycerol content, along with the transient rise in cytosolic calcium, leads to a shift of the C-kinase from a calcium-insensitive to a calcium-sensitive, plasma membrane-associated form. In this location, the activity of C-kinase is regulated by the rate of calcium flux across the plasma membrane. As a result of the activity of the C-kinase, a second set of cellular proteins becomes phosphorylated, and these control the sustained phase of the response.
Hypertension 1987 Nov
PMID:Calcium in the regulation of aldosterone secretion and vascular smooth muscle contraction. 282 62

Functional modifications, such as a reduction in hormonal response, which occur in the cardiovascular system in hypertension, are reflected at the cellular level by anomalies in cyclic nucleotide and other messenger systems. To distinguish between primary and adaptive abnormalities, we pursued three research strategies. (i) Investigations on various models of hypertension. To be considered a primary defect, an abnormality should also be present in other genetically hypertensive models. Indeed, we have confirmed the occurrence of cellular hyperplasia in the heart of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) as well as in spontaneously hypertensive mice (SHM). An increase of calmodulin levels in the heart and kidney is also observed in both the SHR and SHM. (ii) Studies on the evolution of hypertension with age. In humans, a decrease of cAMP levels in response to beta-adrenergic stimulation in older patients is contrasted with an excess in younger subjects. In the SHR, protein kinase activity of the heart is lower in the prehypertensive stages, whereas this defect appears much later in the aorta. (iii) Experiments on anomalies in newborns and cultured cells. The heart and kidney in the SHR exhibit significant hyperplasia at birth, and an abnormal growth continues in tissue culture. We hope that these strategies will eventually help to provide biochemical and functional markers for genetic analysis of factors which may be involved in the pathogenesis of hypertension.
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PMID:Primary versus secondary events in hypertension. 298 25

Clonidine produced an increase of cGMP content and a decrease of the endogenous type II inhibitor of protein kinase in rat hypothalamic slices. When administered to rats, the effect of clonidine on type II inhibitor activity in the hypothalamus and brain-stem depended on the dose. Low doses (10-50 micrograms X kg-1 i.p.) produced an increase, probably by stimulating presynaptic alpha 2-adrenoceptors, whereas large doses (200-1000 micrograms X kg-1 i.p.) produced a decrease of type II inhibitor activity by stimulating postsynaptic receptors. The development of vasopressin hypertension was associated with a gradual reduction of the response of the type II inhibitor to low and high doses of clonidine. In vasopressin-hypertensive rats neither small nor large doses of clonidine were able to induce changes in type II inhibitor activity suggesting subsensitivity of pre- and postsynaptic alpha 2-adrenoceptors. However, clonidine appeared to be equally effective in blocking electrically stimulated [3H]noradrenaline release from hypothalamic slices of vasopressin-hypertensive and control, normotensive rats. Reduced reactivity of postsynaptic alpha 2-adrenoceptors seems to be of great importance since treatment of vasopressin-hypertensive rats with 6-hydroxydopamine resulted in a decrease of blood pressure and reappearance of the sensitivity of postsynaptic alpha 2-adrenoceptors to clonidine.
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PMID:Changed sensitivity of alpha 2-adrenoceptors mediating a decrease in protein kinase inhibitor activity in the brain of vasopressin-hypertensive rats. 300 71


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