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)

It has shown that vasoconstriction in the cavernosal circulation is mediated by the RhoA/Rho-kinase calcium sensitization pathway. Inhibition of Rho-kinase activity in cavernosal smooth muscle with Y-27632 resulted in an erectile response marked by elevated intracavernosal pressure (ICP) without a significant change in men arterial pressure (MAP). To explain how erection can occurred in the presence of this strong vasoconstrictive signal, we have hypothesized that nitric oxide (NO) induces vasodilation leading to erection by directly inhibiting activity of the RhoA/Rho-kinase pathway, thereby reducing vasoconstriction. Administration of Y-27632 restored erectile function in rat models of hypogonadism and hypertension, suggesting that Rho-kinase inhibition may have potential clinical value. In addition, our results show that topical application of Y-27632 may be an effective mode of treatment for erectile dysfunction.
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PMID:[Inhibition of tonic contraction of smooth muscle: a new approach to achieve erection dysfunction]. 1259 7

Two mechanisms are proposed to account for the inhibition of myosin phosphatase (MP) involved in Ca2+ sensitization of vascular muscle, ie, phosphorylation of either MYPT1, a target subunit of MP or CPI-17, an inhibitory phosphoprotein. In cultured vascular aorta smooth muscle cells (VSMCs), stimulation with angiotensin II activated RhoA, and this was blocked by pretreatment with 8-bromo-cGMP. VSMCs stimulated by angiotensin II, endothelin-1, or U-46619 significantly increased the phosphorylation levels of both MYPT1 (at Thr696) and CPI-17 (at Thr38). The angiotensin II-induced phosphorylation of MYPT1 was completely blocked by 8-bromo-cGMP or Y-27632 (a Rho-kinase inhibitor), but not by GF109203X (a PKC inhibitor). In contrast, phosphorylation of CPI-17 was inhibited only by GF109203X. Y-27632 dramatically corrected the hypertension in N(omega)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME)-treated rats, and this hypertension also was sensitive to isosorbide mononitrate. The level of the active form of RhoA was significantly higher in aortas from L-NAME-treated rats. Expression of RhoA, Rho-kinase, MYPT1, CPI-17, and myosin light chain kinase were not significantly different in aortas from L-NAME-treated and control rats. Activation of RhoA without changes in levels of other signaling molecules were observed in three other rat models of hypertension, ie, stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats, renal hypertensive rats, and DOCA-salt rats. These results suggest that independent of the cause of hypertension, a common point in downstream signaling and a critical component of hypertension is activation of RhoA and subsequent activation of Rho-kinase.
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PMID:Activation of RhoA and inhibition of myosin phosphatase as important components in hypertension in vascular smooth muscle. 1260 Aug 88

The Gq-RhoA-Rho kinase pathway, activated by neurohormonal factors such as angiotensin II (Ang II), has been proposed to be one of the important signaling pathways involved in the progression of left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy to heart failure. We tested the hypothesis that chronic inhibition of Rho kinase prevents this process. Heart failure was induced in Dahl salt-sensitive (DS) rats fed an 8% NaCl diet from 8 until 17 weeks of age. Y-27632 (5 mg/kg per day), a selective Rho kinase inhibitor, was applied orally to DS rats starting at 10 weeks of age for 7 weeks (DS/Y+). DS rats without Y-27632 (DS/Y-) and Dahl salt-resistant (DR) rats fed the 8% NaCl diet were regarded as non-therapeutic and normotensive controls, respectively. At 17 weeks of age, there was no significant difference in the blood pressure of DS/Y- and DS/Y+ rats. DS/Y- rats exhibited: (1) increases in LV mass, cross-sectional area (CSA) of cardiomyocytes, and interstitial fibrosis; (2) contractile dysfunction, i.e. decreases in LV ejection fraction and % fractional shortening, and prolongation of time to peak tension as well as to 50% relaxation in the twitch contraction of isolated papillary muscle; and (3) increases in the protein expression of Galphaq and Rho kinase in the myocardial membrane fraction. In DS/Y+ rats, the degree of myocardial hypertrophy was significantly inhibited in association with improved contractile function, without a decrease in the degree of interstitial fibrosis. Our results suggest the possibility that the Gq-Rho kinase pathway plays an important role in the process of hypertension-induced LV hypertrophy leading to contractile dysfunction.
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PMID:Chronic inhibition of Rho kinase blunts the process of left ventricular hypertrophy leading to cardiac contractile dysfunction in hypertension-induced heart failure. 1262

Angiotensin (Ang) II promotes the phosphorylation of extracellular regulated kinase (ERK); however, the mechanisms leading to Ang II-induced ERK phosphorylation are debated. The currently accepted theory involves transactivation of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). We have shown that generation of phosphatidic acid (PA) is required for the recruitment of Raf to membranes and the activation of ERK by multiple agonists, including Ang II. In the present report, we confirm that phospholipase D-dependent generation of PA is required for Ang II-mediated phosphorylation of ERK in Wistar-Kyoto and spontaneously hypertensive rat preglomerular smooth muscle cells (PGSMCs). However, EGF stimulation does not activate phospholipase D or generate PA. These observations indicate that EGF recruits Raf to membranes via a mechanism that does not involve PA, and thus, Ang II-mediated phosphorylation of ERK is partially independent of EGFR-mediated signaling cascades. We hypothesized that phosphoinositide-3-kinase (PI3K) can also act to recruit Raf to membranes; therefore, inhibition of PI3K should inhibit EGF signaling to ERK. Wortmannin, a PI3K inhibitor, inhibited EGF-mediated phosphorylation of ERK (IC50, approximately 14 nmol/L). To examine the role of the EGFR in Ang II-mediated phosphorylation of ERK we utilized 100 nmol/L wortmannin to inhibit EGFR signaling to ERK and T19N RhoA to block Ang II-mediated ERK phosphorylation. Wortmannin treatment inhibited EGF-mediated but not Ang II-mediated phosphorylation of ERK. Furthermore, T19N RhoA inhibited Ang II-mediated ERK phosphorylation, whereas T19N RhoA had significantly less effect on EGF-mediated ERK phosphorylation. We conclude that transactivation of the EGFR is not primarily responsible for Ang II-mediated activation of ERK in PGSMCs.
Hypertension 2003 Mar
PMID:Role of EGFR transactivation in angiotensin II signaling to extracellular regulated kinase in preglomerular smooth muscle cells. 1262 96

A major hemodynamic abnormality in hypertension is increased peripheral resistance due to changes in vascular structure and function. Structural changes include reduced lumen diameter and arterial wall thickening. Functional changes include increased vasoconstriction and/or decreased vasodilation. These processes are influenced by many humoral factors, of which angiotensin II (Ang II) seems to be critical. At the cellular level, Ang II stimulates vascular smooth muscle cell growth, increases collagen deposition, induces inflammation, increases contractility, and decreases dilation. Molecular mechanisms associated with these changes in hypertension include upregulation of many signaling pathways, including tyrosine kinases, mitogen-activated protein kinases, RhoA/Rho kinase, and increased generation of reactive oxygen species. This review focuses on the role of Ang II in vascular functional and structural changes of small arteries in hypertension. In addition, cellular processes whereby Ang II influences vessels in hypertension are discussed. Finally, novel concepts related to signaling pathways by which Ang II regulates vascular smooth muscle cells in hypertension are introduced.
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PMID:The role of angiotensin II in regulating vascular structural and functional changes in hypertension. 1264 16

Recent studies have demonstrated that the Rho/Rho-kinase pathway plays an important role in various cellular functions, including actin cytoskeleton organization and vascular smooth muscle contraction. This pathway is also present in the central nervous system and is involved in the maintenance of dendritic spines and axon outgrowth and in the regulation of neurotransmitter release. However, its role in central blood pressure regulation is unknown. In the present study, blockade of the Rho/Rho-kinase pathway in the nucleus tractus solitarii (NTS) of the brain stem by microinjection of a specific Rho-kinase inhibitor decreased blood pressure, heart rate, and renal sympathetic nerve activity in both Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). However, the magnitude of decreases in these variables was greater in SHR than in WKY rats. In addition, an adenovirus vector encoding dominant-negative Rho-kinase decreased blood pressure, heart rate, and urinary norepinephrine excretion in both WKY rats and SHR in an awake and free-moving state. The magnitude of decreases in these variables was also greater in SHR than in WKY rats. Furthermore, membrane RhoA expression and Rho-kinase activity in the NTS were enhanced in SHR compared with WKY rats. These observations indicate that the Rho/Rho-kinase pathway in the NTS contributes to blood pressure regulation via the sympathetic nervous system in vivo and suggest that activation of this pathway is involved in the central mechanisms of hypertension.
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PMID:Rho/Rho-kinase pathway in brain stem contributes to blood pressure regulation via sympathetic nervous system: possible involvement in neural mechanisms of hypertension. 1279 5

Erectile dysfunction is a condition that is estimated to affect more than 30 million men in the United States alone. The prevalence of erectile dysfunction is increased with age and is often secondary to diseases such as depression, hypertension and diabetes. Causes of erectile dysfunction include physical injury to the cavernosum and abnormal cerebral and peripheral nervous system functioning. However, many cases of erectile dysfunction are the result of dysfunctional signaling in the cavernosal vasculature. This article will detail the important role of a vasoconstrictor mechanism mediated by the small G-protein RhoA and a downstream serine/threonine kinase, Rho-kinase, in the maintenance of penile flaccidity. Recent evidence demonstrates that inhibition of endogenous Rho-kinase initiates an erectile response in an in vivo rat model. These initial findings introduce a novel potential therapeutic approach for the treatment of erectile dysfunction.
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PMID:Rho-kinase as a potential target for the treatment of erectile dysfunction. 1280 26

Inflammatory responses play an important role in atherosclerosis. To critically assess the effect of dihydropyridines in inflammatory reactions, we conducted a monocyte-endothelial adhesion assay with monocytic THP-1 cells treated with amlodipine under flow conditions in vitro. THP-1 cells were incubated in the presence of amlodipine (10 micromol/L) for 48 hours and then perfused over activated (interleukin-1beta, 10 U/mL, 4 hours) human umbilical vein endothelial cells. The adhesion of THP-1 cells was significantly reduced after amlodipine treatment (P<0.001); however, flow cytometric analysis reveled that the expression levels of integrins in THP-1 cells were not significantly altered. Furthermore, Western blotting analysis of THP-1 cell lysates revealed that translocation of RhoA from the cytosol to the membrane was significantly diminished after amlodipine treatment. In addition, activation of protein kinase C-alpha and -beta, as well as intracellular calcium influx, induced by phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate, was diminished after amlodipine treatment. Pretreatment of THP-1 cells with calphostin C, a potent inhibitor of protein kinase C, significantly reduced THP-1 adhesion to vascular endothelium, whereas activation of beta1-integrin was reduced after amlodipine treatment in THP-1 cells, based on the immunoreactivity of an activation-specific antibody for beta1-integrin. Similar inhibitory effects were observed when we used freshly isolated peripheral blood mononuclear cells. These findings suggest a potential role for amlodipine in monocyte-endothelial interactions by modulation of protein kinase C- and RhoA-dependent mechanisms, which might account for its vascular protective effects.
Hypertension 2003 Sep
PMID:Amlodipine modulates THP-1 cell adhesion to vascular endothelium via inhibition of protein kinase C signal transduction. 1290 Apr 27

Regulation of vascular smooth muscle cell contractile state is critical for the maintenance of blood vessel tone. Abnormal vascular smooth muscle cell contractility plays an important role in the pathogenesis of hypertension, blood vessel spasm, and atherosclerosis. Myosin phosphatase, the key enzyme controlling myosin light chain dephosphorylation, regulates smooth muscle cell contraction. Vasoconstrictor and vasodilator pathways inhibit and activate myosin phosphatase, respectively. G-protein-coupled receptor agonists can inhibit myosin phosphatase and cause smooth muscle cell contraction by activating RhoA/Rho kinase, whereas NO/cGMP can activate myosin phosphatase and cause smooth muscle cell relaxation by activation of cGMP-dependent protein kinase. We have used yeast two-hybrid screening to identify a 116-kDa human protein that interacts with both myosin phosphatase and RhoA. This myosin phosphatase-RhoA interacting protein, or M-RIP, is highly homologous to murine p116RIP3, is expressed in vascular smooth muscle, and is localized to actin myofilaments. M-RIP binds directly to the myosin binding subunit of myosin phosphatase in vivo in vascular smooth muscle cells by an interaction between coiled-coil and leucine zipper domains in the two proteins. An adjacent domain of M-RIP directly binds RhoA in a nucleotide-independent manner. M-RIP copurifies with RhoA and Rho kinase, colocalizes on actin stress fibers with RhoA and MBS, and is associated with Rho kinase activity in vascular smooth muscle cells. M-RIP can assemble a complex containing both RhoA and MBS, suggesting that M-RIP may play a role in myosin phosphatase regulation by RhoA.
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PMID:Myosin phosphatase-Rho interacting protein. A new member of the myosin phosphatase complex that directly binds RhoA. 1450 64

Ca2+ sensitivity of smooth muscle and nonmuscle myosin II reflects the ratio of activities of myosin light-chain kinase (MLCK) to myosin light-chain phosphatase (MLCP) and is a major, regulated determinant of numerous cellular processes. We conclude that the majority of phenotypes attributed to the monomeric G protein RhoA and mediated by its effector, Rho-kinase (ROK), reflect Ca2+ sensitization: inhibition of myosin II dephosphorylation in the presence of basal (Ca2+ dependent or independent) or increased MLCK activity. We outline the pathway from receptors through trimeric G proteins (Galphaq, Galpha12, Galpha13) to activation, by guanine nucleotide exchange factors (GEFs), from GDP. RhoA. GDI to GTP. RhoA and hence to ROK through a mechanism involving association of GEF, RhoA, and ROK in multimolecular complexes at the lipid cell membrane. Specific domains of GEFs interact with trimeric G proteins, and some GEFs are activated by Tyr kinases whose inhibition can inhibit Rho signaling. Inhibition of MLCP, directly by ROK or by phosphorylation of the phosphatase inhibitor CPI-17, increases phosphorylation of the myosin II regulatory light chain and thus the activity of smooth muscle and nonmuscle actomyosin ATPase and motility. We summarize relevant effects of p21-activated kinase, LIM-kinase, and focal adhesion kinase. Mechanisms of Ca2+ desensitization are outlined with emphasis on the antagonism between cGMP-activated kinase and the RhoA/ROK pathway. We suggest that the RhoA/ROK pathway is constitutively active in a number of organs under physiological conditions; its aberrations play major roles in several disease states, particularly impacting on Ca2+ sensitization of smooth muscle in hypertension and possibly asthma and on cancer neoangiogenesis and cancer progression. It is a potentially important therapeutic target and a subject for translational research.
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PMID:Ca2+ sensitivity of smooth muscle and nonmuscle myosin II: modulated by G proteins, kinases, and myosin phosphatase. 1450 7


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