Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0020538 (hypertension)
 170,190 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Endothelial dysfunction is an early pathophysiological feature and independent predictor of poor prognosis in most forms of cardiovascular diseases. Epidemiological studies report an inverse association between dietary flavonoid consumption and mortality from cardiovascular diseases. In the present paper, we review the effects of flavonoids, especially quercetin and wine polyphenols, on endothelial function and dysfunction and its potential protective role in hypertension, ischemic heart disease and stroke. In vitro studies show that flavonoids may exert multiple actions on the NO-guanylyl cyclase pathway, endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor(s) and endothelin-1 and protect endothelial cells against apoptosis. In vivo, flavonoids prevent endothelial dysfunction and reduce blood pressure, oxidative stress and end-organ damage in hypertensive animals. Moreover, some clinical studies have shown that flavonoid-rich foods can improve endothelial function in patients with hypertension and ischemic heart disease. Altogether, the available evidence indicates that quercetin and wine polyphenols might be of therapeutic benefit in cardiovascular diseases even though prospective controlled clinical studies are still lacking.
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PMID:Endothelial function and cardiovascular disease: effects of quercetin and wine polyphenols. 1701 50

Relaxation of smooth muscle can occur through agonists (such as nitric oxide) that activate guanylyl cyclase and stimulate the production of cGMP, activating its target, cGMP-dependent protein kinase (PKG). This kinase can raise the Ca2+ threshold for contraction, thus causing Ca2+ desensitization, but the mechanism for this event is not completely understood. Ca2+ sensitization/desensitization pathways are essential for maintenance of normal smooth muscle tone, and abnormalities in these pathways have been shown to be key components in the pathogenesis of diseases such as hypertension and asthma in humans. Our laboratory has devised a proteomic method to specifically address the question of what proteins are early phosphorylation targets in calcium desensitization. Using ileum smooth muscle, we metabolically labeled the muscle with (32P)-orthophosphate, permeabilized the muscle, established constant calcium concentrations, and stimulated with 8-bromo-cGMP, which activates PKG. Proteins whose phosphorylation state changed in response to cGMP at constant levels of calcium were separated with two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, identified by autoradiography, and sequenced with nanospray mass spectrometry. Using this technique, we identified a previously uncharacterized PKG phosphoprotein, which we have termed CHASM (Calponin Homology Smooth Muscle protein). Using physiological muscle bath contraction studies, we have validated CHASM as a component of calcium desensitization pathways in smooth muscle.
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PMID:Real-time in vivo proteomic identification of novel kinase substrates in smooth muscle. 1717 92

Disruption of the guanylyl cyclase-A/natriuretic peptide receptor-A (GC-A/NPRA) gene leads to elevated arterial blood pressure and congestive heart failure in mice lacking NPRA. This study was aimed at determining whether Npr1 (coding for GC-A/NPRA) gene copy number affects adrenal ANG II and aldosterone (Aldo) levels in a gene-dose-dependent manner in Npr1 gene-targeted mice. Adrenal ANG II and Aldo levels increased in 1-copy mice compared with 2-copy mice, but decreased in 3-copy and 4-copy mice. In contrast, renal ANG II levels decreased in 1-copy (25%), 3-copy (38%), and 4-copy (39%) mice compared with 2-copy mice. The low-salt diet stimulated adrenal ANG II and Aldo levels in 1-copy (20 and 2,441%), 2-copy (15 and 2,339%), 3-copy (20 and 424%), and 4-copy (31 and 486%) mice, respectively. The high-salt diet suppressed adrenal ANG II and Aldo levels in 1-copy (46 and 29%) and 2-copy (38 and 17%) mice. On the other hand, the low-salt diet stimulated renal ANG II levels in 1-copy (45%), 2-copy (45%), 3-copy (59%), and 4-copy (48%) mice. However, the high-salt diet suppressed renal ANG II levels in 1-copy (28%) and 2-copy (27%) mice. In conclusion, NPRA signaling antagonizes adrenal ANG II and Aldo levels in a gene-dose dependent manner. Increased adrenal ANG II and Aldo levels may play an important role in elevated arterial blood pressure and progressive hypertension, leading to renal and vascular injury in Npr1 gene-disrupted mice.
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PMID:Guanylyl cyclase/natriuretic peptide receptor-A gene disruption causes increased adrenal angiotensin II and aldosterone levels. 1738 76

The present experiments were designed to test the hypothesis that prostaglandin (PG) E(2) causes vasodilatation through activation of endothelial NO synthase (eNOS). Aortic rings from mice with targeted deletion of eNOS and E-prostanoid (EP) receptors were used for contraction studies. Blood pressure changes in response to PGE(2) were measured in conscious mice. Single doses of PGE(2) caused concentration-dependent relaxations during contractions to phenylephrine (EC(50)=5*10(-8) mol/L). Relaxation after PGE(2) was absent in rings without endothelium and in rings from eNOS(-/-) mice and was abolished by N(G)-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester and the soluble guanylate cyclase inhibitor 1H(1,2,4)-oxadiazolo-[4,3-a]quinoxalin-1-one. In PGE(2)-relaxed aortic rings, the cGMP content increased significantly. PGE(2)-induced relaxations were abolished by the EP4 receptor antagonist AE3-208 (10(-8) mol/L) and mimicked by an EP4 agonist (AE1-329, 10(-7) mol/L) in the presence of endothelium and eNOS only. Relaxations were attenuated significantly in rings from EP4(-/-) mice but normal in EP2(-/-). Inhibitors of the cAMP-protein kinase A pathway attenuated, whereas the inhibitor of protein phosphatase 1C, calyculin (10(-8) mol/L), abolished the PGE(2)-mediated relaxation. In aortic rings, PGE(2) dephosphorylated eNOS at Thr(495). Chronically catheterized eNOS(-/-) mice were hypertensive (137+/-3.6 mm Hg, n=13, versus 101+/-3.9 mm Hg, n=9) and exhibited a lower sensitivity of blood pressure reduction in response to PGE(2) compared with wild-type mice. There was no difference in the blood pressure response to nifedipine. These findings show that PGE(2) elicits EP4 receptor-mediated, endothelium-dependent stimulation of eNOS activity by dephosphorylation at Thr(495) resulting in guanylyl cyclase-dependent vasorelaxation and accumulation of cGMP in aortic rings.
Hypertension 2007 Sep
PMID:Prostaglandin E2 induces vascular relaxation by E-prostanoid 4 receptor-mediated activation of endothelial nitric oxide synthase. 1763 57

Atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) regulates arterial blood pressure and volume. Its guanylyl cyclase-A (GC-A) receptor is expressed in vascular endothelium and mediates increases in cGMP, but the functional relevance is controversial. Notably, mice with endothelial-restricted GC-A deletion [EC GC-A knockout (KO) mice] exhibit significant chronic hypervolemic hypertension. The present study aimed to characterize the endothelial effects of ANP and their relevance for the acute regulation of intravascular fluid volume. We studied the effect of ANP on microvascular permeability to fluorescein isothiocyanate-labeled albumin (BSA) using intravital microscopy on mouse dorsal skinfold chambers. Local superfusion of ANP (100 nm) increased microvascular fluorescein isothiocyanate-BSA extravasation in control but not EC GC-A KO mice. Intravenous infusion of synthetic ANP (500 ng/kg x min) caused immediate increases in hematocrit in control mice, indicating intravascular volume contraction. In EC GC-A KO mice, the hematocrit responses were not only abolished but even reversed. Furthermore, acute vascular volume expansion, which caused release of endogenous cardiac ANP, did not affect resting central venous pressure of control mice but rapidly and significantly increased central venous pressure of EC GC-A KO mice. In cultured lung endothelial cells, ANP provoked cGMP-dependent protein kinase I-mediated phosphorylation of vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein. We conclude that ANP, via GC-A, enhances microvascular endothelial macromolecule permeability in vivo. This effect might be mediated by cGMP-dependent protein kinase I-dependent phosphorylation of vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein. Modulation of transcapillary protein and fluid transport may represent one of the most important hypovolemic actions of ANP.
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PMID:The heart communicates with the endothelium through the guanylyl cyclase-A receptor: acute handling of intravascular volume in response to volume expansion. 1845 Sep 68

Soluble guanylyl cyclase (sGC) is the principal receptor for NO and plays a ubiquitous role in regulating cellular function. This is exemplified in the cardiovascular system where sGC governs smooth muscle tone and growth, vascular permeability, leukocyte flux, and platelet aggregation. As a consequence, aberrant NO-sGC signaling has been linked to diseases including hypertension, atherosclerosis, and stroke. Despite these key (patho)physiological roles, little is known about the expressional regulation of sGC. To address this deficit, we have characterized the promoter activity of human alpha(1) and beta(1) sGC genes in a cell type relevant to cardiovascular (patho)physiology, primary human aortic smooth muscle cells. Luciferase reporter constructs revealed that the 0.3- and 0.5-kb regions upstream of the transcription start sites were optimal for alpha(1) and beta(1) sGC promoter activity, respectively. Deletion of consensus sites for c-Myb, GAGA, NFAT, NF-kappaB(p50), and CCAAT-binding factor(s) (CCAAT-BF) revealed that these are the principal transcription factors regulating basal sGC expression. In addition, under pro-inflammatory conditions, the effects of the strongest alpha(1) and beta(1) sGC repressors were enhanced, and enzyme expression and activity were reduced; in particular, NF-kappaB(p50) is pivotal in regulating enzyme expression under such conditions. NO itself also elicited a cGMP-independent negative feedback effect on sGC promoter activity that is mediated, in part, via CCAAT-BF activity. In sum, these data provide a systematic characterization of the promoter activity of human sGC alpha(1) and beta(1) subunits and identify key transcription factors that govern subunit expression under basal and pro-inflammatory (i.e. atherogenic) conditions and in the presence of ligand NO.
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PMID:Characterization of the human alpha1 beta1 soluble guanylyl cyclase promoter: key role for NF-kappaB(p50) and CCAAT-binding factors in regulating expression of the nitric oxide receptor. 1847

The present study aimed to examine whether there is an altered regulation of local hormonal systems in the kidney following the treatment of glycyrrhizic acid (GA), the active ingredient in licorice. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were treated with GA for 3 weeks. The expression of mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) was determined in the kidney by immunoblotting and real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The protein expression of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) and inducible NOS (iNOS) was determined. The expression of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP), natriuretic peptide receptor (NPR)-A and NPR-C was determined by real-time PCR. The activity of guanylyl cyclase was determined by the amount of cGMP generated in responses to sodium nitroprusside (SNP) or ANP. Following the GA treatment, systolic blood pressure was increased. The mRNA and protein expressions of MR were increased in the kidney. The protein expression of eNOS and iNOS was also increased. The expression of ANP mRNA was increased although that of NPR-A and NPR-C mRNA was not changed. The cGMP production provoked by either SNP or ANP was not changed. The increased expression of MR may contribute to GA-induced hypertension. The enhanced expression of NOS and ANP may play a compensatory role in GA-induced hypertension.
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PMID:Increased renal expression of nitric oxide synthase and atrial natriuretic peptide in rats with glycyrrhizic-acid-induced hypertension. 1869 94

Previous work from this laboratory indicated that superior cervical ganglia from rats exposed to chronic psychosocial stress expressed ganglionic long-term potentiation (gLTP) in vivo. In the present study, we report additional pharmacological evidence indicating involvement of calmodulin and guanylyl cyclase in gLTP, and supporting the in vivo gLTP expression in ganglia from chronically stressed rats. Pretreatment with the calmodulin inhibitors W-7 (5 microM) or calmidazolium (5 microM) or with guanylyl cyclase inhibitor LY-83583 (5 microM) completely blocked HFS (20 Hz/20s)-induced gLTP in superior cervical ganglia isolated from normal rats. Along with that, inhibition of apparent basal ganglionic transmission by W-7 (5 microM), calmidazolium (5 microM) or LY-83583 (5 microM) is observed in ganglia isolated from chronically stressed rats, but not in those from control rats, indicating in vivo expression of gLTP in ganglia isolated from stressed rats. The present results confirm the involvement of both calmodulin and GC activities in gLTP, and indicate that ganglia from stressed rats may have expressed gLTP in vivo, which is known to precipitate hypertension in these animals.
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PMID:Calmodulin and guanylyl cyclase inhibitors block the in vivo expression of gLTP in sympathetic ganglia from chronically stressed rats. 1903 94

Atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP), via its guanylyl cyclase (GC)-A receptor, plays a key role in the regulation of arterial blood pressure (ABP) and volume. Endothelial-restricted deletion of GC-A in mice [endothelial cell (EC) GC-A knockout (KO)] resulted in hypervolemic hypertension, demonstrating that the endothelium participates in the hypotensive and hypovolemic actions of ANP. Published studies showed that ANP modulates the release of the vasoactive factors nitric oxide (NO) and endothelin-1 (ET-1) from cultured endothelia. Based on these observations, we examined the role of these endothelial factors in ANP-dependent vasodilatation (studied in isolated arteries) and chronic regulation of ABP (measured in awake mice by tail-cuff plethysmography). ANP induced concentration-dependent vasorelaxations of aortic, carotid, and pulmonary arteries. These responses were not different between control and EC GC-A KO mice, and were significantly enhanced after inhibition of NO synthase [by N(G)-nitro-L-arginine-methyl ester]. Intravenous administration of N(G)-nitro-L-arginine-methyl ester to conscious mice significantly increased ABP. The extent of these hypertensive reactions was similar in EC GC-A KO mice and control littermates (increases in systolic blood pressure by approximately 25 mm Hg). Conversely, antagonism of ET-1/endothelin-A receptors with BQ-123 reduced ABP significantly and comparably in both genotypes (by approximately 11 mm Hg). Finally, the vascular and tissue expression levels of components of the NO system and of immunoreactive ET-1 were not different in control and EC GC-A KO mice. We conclude that the endothelium, but not modulation of endothelial NO or ET-1, participates in the chronic regulation of ABP by ANP.
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PMID:Chronic endothelium-dependent regulation of arterial blood pressure by atrial natriuretic peptide: role of nitric oxide and endothelin-1. 1917 30

The objective of the present study was to gain insight into the cooperative roles of Ets-1 and p300 in transcriptional regulation and expression of the Npr1 gene (coding for guanylyl cyclase-A/natriuretic peptide receptor-A). Overexpression of Ets-1 and p300 in mouse mesangial cells increased Npr1 promoter activity by 12-fold, natriuretic peptide receptor-A mRNA levels by 5-fold, and ANP-dependent intracellular accumulation of cGMP by 26-fold. Knockdown of Ets-1 and p300 expression by small interfering RNA inhibited Npr1 gene transcription by 90%. Sequential chromatin immunoprecipitation assay demonstrated a direct physical association between p300 and Ets-1 on binding to the Npr1 promoter, suggesting that a physical interaction between Ets-1 and p300 is important to enhance Npr1 gene transcription. Mutant p300 lacking histone acetyltransferase activity did not show a functional effect with Ets-1, suggesting that histone acetyltransferase activity of p300 is required for the cooperative interaction in modulating Npr1 gene transcription. Overexpression of wild-type adenovirus E1A significantly decreased the Npr1 promoter activity by 40%, whereas mutant E1A, which is incapable of binding to p300, did not show any effect. The results indicate that Npr1 gene transcription is critically controlled by histone acetyltransferase p300 and Ets-1. The present findings should yield important insights into the molecular signaling governing Npr1 gene transcription, an important regulator in the control of hypertension and cardiovascular events.
Hypertension 2009 Jul
PMID:Cooperative activation of Npr1 gene transcription and expression by interaction of Ets-1 and p300. 1948 84


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