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

Hypertension causes biochemical and morphological changes in the vessel wall by unknown mechanisms. Locally produced substances may have a role in mediating these vascular changes. We have studied the expression of platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) B chain and PDGF A chain, insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-I and IGF-II, endothelial cell growth factor (ECGF), basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), and transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) in aortic tissue from normotensive rats and rats made hypertensive by deoxycorticosterone (DOC)/salt treatment. Using Northern blotting, we found that genes for each of these growth factors were transcriptionally active in the aorta of both normotensive and hypertensive rats. TGF-beta aortic mRNA levels increased up to threefold as a result of DOC/salt hypertension. In contrast, no major changes in the expression of either PDGF chain, IGF-I or II, ECGF, or bFGF were detectable. The results indicate that at least seven genes coding for growth factors that were shown previously to influence growth and function of vascular cells in vitro, are expressed in rat aorta in vivo. These findings support the hypothesis that synthesis and release of growth factors in the arterial wall are involved in autocrine and/or paracrine regulatory mechanisms. In addition, the increased expression of TGF-beta in vivo may have a role in mediating the aortic changes induced by hypertension.
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PMID:Growth factor expression in aorta of normotensive and hypertensive rats. 270 37

Comparative studies have shown that cultured vascular smooth muscle cells from spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) proliferate to a higher cell number, grow to a greater density, and have greater specific growth rate, particularly at a higher saturation density, than those of the normotensive Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) control rats. The growth difference was not due to varying cell survival nor to attachment ability after passage. The degree of DNA synthesis was estimated by [3H]thymidine incorporation into newly synthesized DNA. [3H]thymidine uptake increased with escalating concentrations of calf serum and reached a plateau at 5% calf serum in WKY rats, whereas an excessive, continuous rise was observed in SHR with up to a 20% concentration. [3H]thymidine incorporation into newly synthesized DNA was tested after stimulation by platelet-derived growth factor and epidermal growth factor. A significantly higher amount of newly synthesized DNA in vascular smooth muscle cells from SHR was noted when the cells were stimulated by platelet-derived growth factor or epidermal growth factor alone, and their simultaneous addition did not significantly change the 50% effective concentration but heightened the maximal response. These data provide evidence of increased aortic smooth muscle cell proliferation from aortas of SHR after mitogen stimulation and suggest a defect in growth stimulatory-inhibitory control.
Hypertension 1989 Jun
PMID:Abnormalities in growth characteristics of aortic smooth muscle cells in spontaneously hypertensive rats. 278 47

Recent data demonstrate that in addition to its conduit function, the blood vessel is an active synthetic and secretory organ containing several autocrine and paracrine systems that are involved with the local regulation of its own function. The endothelium plays a pivotal role in modulating the balance between thrombogenesis and thrombolysis. In addition, it secretes vasorelaxant and vasoconstrictive substances, growth factors and inflammatory mediators that exert paracrine influences on vascular myocyte function. The vascular myocyte also expresses autocrine substances which influence its own function. The autocrine systems include angiotensin, prostaglandins, platelet-derived growth factor, insulin-like growth factor and heparin. These local factors exert modulatory influences on myocyte contractility and growth. It is conceivable that genetic or acquired abnormalities of one or several of these check and balance systems can result in increased vascular tone, generalized vascular hypertrophy or hyperplasia, or a combination, and contribute to the pathogenesis of hypertension. These autocrine-paracrine systems may be important targets for antihypertensive drug development.
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PMID:Autocrine-paracrine mechanisms of vascular myocytes in systemic hypertension. 289 Dec 92

Recent data demonstrate that in addition to its conduit function, the blood vessel is an active synthetic and secretory organ containing several autocrine and paracrine systems that are involved with the local regulation of its own function (i.e., structure and growth). The endothelium secretes vasorelaxant and vasoconstrictive substances, growth factors and inflammatory mediators that exert paracrine influences on vascular myocyte function. The vascular myocyte also expresses autocrine substances that influence its own function. The autocrine systems include angiotensin, prostaglandins, platelet-derived growth factor, insulin-like growth factor and heparin. These local factors exert modulatory influences on myocyte contractility and growth. These autocrine and paracrine systems serve as an adaptive mechanism by which the vasculature autoregulates its structural and functional state. We speculate that an alteration in this delicate balance of these local factors, due to genetic or acquired abnormalities, can result in increased vascular tone and vessel hypertrophy and thereby contribute to the pathogenesis of hypertension.
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PMID:Cell biology of vascular hypertrophy in systemic hypertension. 305 93

Chronic hypoxia produces pulmonary artery hypertension and remodeling of pulmonary arteries with hypertrophy of smooth muscle in the media and extension of smooth muscle into more distal small precapillary arteries. The present study investigated the influence of heparin, an inhibitor of platelet-derived growth factor, and of the clotting cascade on this remodeling. Mice maintained in room air or 10% O2 for 26 days were treated with low-dose heparin at 75 units/kg or high dose heparin at 300 units/kg. Pulmonary hypertension and right ventricular hypertrophy developed in the hypoxic mice compared with the room air mice as evidenced by the greater (p less than 0.05) right ventricular systolic pressure (36 +/- 4 SEM versus 21 +/- 1 mmHg) and the increase (p less than 0.05) in right heart weight/left ventricular plus septal weight (35 +/- 1.6 SEM versus 25.2 +/- 1.3). Hypoxia also induced smooth muscle hypertrophy in small pulmonary arteries, with an increase (p less than 0.05) in the percent media thickness/vascular diameter from 5.7 +/- 1 SEM to 13.3 +/- 3 and an apparent decrease (p less than 0.05) in distal small pulmonary arteries from 4.4 +/- 0.2 SEM to 2.05 +/- 0.1 per 100 alveoli. High-dose heparin partially but significantly (p less than 0.05) prevented the pulmonary artery hypertension (right ventricular systolic pressure of 28 +/- 2 mmHg), the right ventricular hypertrophy (right ventricular weight/left ventricular plus septal weight of 30.1 +/- 1) and remodeling of distal small pulmonary arteries (media thickness/vascular diameter of 8.4 +/- 1%, small pulmonary artery/100 alveoli of 3.63 +/- 0.1).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Impairment of hypoxic pulmonary artery remodeling by heparin in mice. 622 26

Vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs) occur throughout the vascular tree and have important physiological functions. They are also involved in pathological processes such as development and progression of atherosclerotic lesions, restenosis following angioplasty, and in hypertension. This review is focused on the role of the insulin-like growth factor (IGF) system in proliferation, migration, and hypertrophy of vascular SMCs and its interaction with insulin and other growth factors. The IGF-I receptor is highly expressed in SMCs in intact arteries and in cultured SMCs and is activated by binding of IGF-I to the two alpha-subunits. Insulin and IGF-II from the circulation can interact with the IGF-I receptor at higher concentrations. Insulin receptors are few or absent in SMCs and circulating insulin concentrations in vivo are probably too low for a direct action of insulin on the IGF-I receptor in SMCs. Receptor activation initiates a number of signal transduction pathways. Increased phosphatidylinositol turnover and calcium mobilization correlates with actin filament reorganization and stimulation of directed migration of the SMC in a gradient of IGF-I. The effects of IGF-I receptor activation on signal transduction pathways (eg, the MAP kinase cascade) implicated in DNA synthesis and proliferation are weak and this correlates with the meager mitogenic activity of IGF-I in SMC. Several components of the IGF-system in SMC are regulated by growth factors such as platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-BB and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:The insulin-like growth factor system in vascular smooth muscle: interaction with insulin and growth factors. 747 13

Diadenosine polyphosphates (diadenosine triphosphate, Ap3A; diadenosine tetraphosphate, Ap4A; diadenosine pentaphosphate, Ap5A; diadenosine hexaphosphate, Ap6A) are potent vasoactive molecules stored and released by platelets. We examined whether these dinucleotides might contribute to the glomerular inflammatory response by stimulating the proliferation of mesangial cells. In cultured rat mesangial cells all four tested dinucleotides (10 to 100 mumol/L) significantly stimulated DNA synthesis as measured by [3H]thymidine uptake at 48 hours (x-fold increase compared with unstimulated control cells: Ap3A, 1.5; Ap4A, 1.8; Ap5A, 1.6; Ap6A, 1.6). In combination with the platelet products platelet-derived growth factor, epidermal growth factor, and serotonin, the dinucleotides synergistically increased DNA synthesis. Dinucleotides by themselves increased cell counts by 23% to 43% at day 2 and augmented mesangial cell growth induced by platelet-derived growth factor, epidermal growth factor, and serotonin. Furthermore, dinucleotides (100 mumol/L) rapidly induced a modest increase in expression of the early growth response gene Egr-1 at 30 minutes (x-fold increase over baseline control: Ap3A, 1.9; Ap4A, 2.8; Ap5A, 2.2; Ap6A, 2.1). We found that extracellular Ap4A was metabolized by mesangial cell ectoenzymes to mononucleotides and adenosine, which also have been shown to be mitogenic for mesangial cells. The combination of Ap4A with mononucleotides or adenosine failed to cause additive stimulation of DNA synthesis in mesangial cells. We conclude that diadenosine polyphosphates stimulate proliferation of cultured mesangial cells and augment mesangial cell growth induced by other mitogens released from platelets. Different molecular mechanisms may be involved in dinucleotide-induced mitogenesis of mesangial cells. Direct effects of dinucleotides on cultured mesangial cells. Direct effects of dinucleotides on cultured mesangial cells appear to play a role because dinucleotides rapidly caused activation of Egr-1.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Hypertension 1995 Dec
PMID:Vasoactive diadenosine polyphosphates promote growth of cultured renal mesangial cells. 749 Jan 46

Inappropriate vascular smooth-muscle cell (VSMC) growth is the hallmark of vascular pathology in essential hypertension and diabetic macroangiopathy, whereas platelets constitute an important regulator of vessel wall homeostasis because of their content of various growth factors. Numerous abnormalities exist in platelet functions in diabetes and hypertension, such as enhanced activity and altered adhesion and aggregation. Increased thromboxane (TX2) production is characteristic of diabetes, and an elevation of intracellular free Ca2+ is found in platelets of hypertensive patients. By studying the growth patterns of VSMC from spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) vs. those obtained from their normotensive counterparts, Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats, we have demonstrated that VSMC from SHRs exhibited a higher specific growth rate, abnormal contact inhibition, and accelerated entry into the S phase of the cell cycle. Moreover, they were hyperresponsive to many growth factors such as calf serum, epidermal growth factor (EGF), platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF beta 1), and insulin. Additive effects were observed for EGF and PDGF or EGF and insulin. These intrinsic growth anomalies in cells of hypertensive origin persist in culture indicating their putative primary role in the pathogenesis of hypertension. Endogenous TGF beta 1 revealed an augmented expression of its message levels in SHR VSMC, the difference in mRNA between both strains being more pronounced at high cell density. Further, TGF beta 1 protein synthesis and secretion in VSMC culture were confirmed by immunoprecipitation of de novo labeled TGF beta 1. At high cell density, which most likely represents the physiological state of VSMC, plasmin, an activator of TGF beta 1, significantly stimulated DNA synthesis of VSMC in both strains. The reverse effect was obtained at low cell density. Yet, the fold stimulation was higher in WKY rats, suggesting that TGF beta 1 may be partially activated in SHR VSMC. This is supported by the inhibition of baseline DNA synthesis by TGF beta 1 neutralizing antibody in VSMC of hypertensive origin and not of normotensive controls. TGF beta 1 antisense oligodeoxynucleotide (ODN) nearly normalized the increased proliferation of SHR VSMC in culture. On the other hand, growth-promoting activity (GPA) in platelets of either diabetic or hypertensive patients was higher than in platelets of healthy controls and was found to be normalized by intensive insulin therapy in insulin-dependent diabetic patients. In hypertensive patients, however, hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ)--even in low doses (25 mg/day)--enhanced the GPA in platelets, whereas other antihypertensive agents such as indapamide, atenolol, and captopril, had neutral effects.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
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PMID:Platelets, growth factors, and vascular smooth-muscle cells in hypertension and diabetes. 750 64

In this study, we compared the cellular functions of cultured glomerular mesangial cells (MC) from spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and from normotensive Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKY) in response to the growth factors insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) and platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF). IGF-I and PDGF at a concentration above 2 ng/ml and a combination of both tested growth factors exerted a highly elevated growth response of SHR MC versus WKY MC. The total RNA synthesis induced by IGF-I and PDGF was increased in SHR MC as compared with WKY MC, while the overall protein synthesis showed no differences between both strains. Analysis of cell-associated fibronectin accumulation and incorporation of proline into collagenous proteins revealed an enhanced basal and PDGF-stimulated matrix formation of SHR MC which was not dependent on the increased production of autocrine matrix-stimulatory mediators by SHR MC. Changes of cytosolic free calcium - [Ca2+]i - could not be correlated with the enhanced responsiveness of SHR MC to the tested growth factors. The described differences of cellular functions between SHR and WKY MC may contribute to pronounced glomerular alterations such as glomerulosclerosis seen in primary and secondary forms of hypertension.
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PMID:Differential effects of insulin-like growth factor I and platelet-derived growth factor on growth response, matrix formation, and cytosolic free calcium of glomerular mesangial cells of spontaneously hypertensive and normotensive rats. 753 93

The effect of hypertension on the arterial vascular wall is characterised primarily by morphological changes to the endothelium and hypertrophy of smooth muscle cells within the arterial media. Endothelial dysfunction is manifest through increased permeability to high molecular weight compounds as well as mitogenic and vasoactive substances. At the same time, denudation of the vascular endothelium promotes platelet aggregation and subsequent release of platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF). In conjunction with endothelium- and monocyte-derived growth factors, this mitogen stimulates subintimal smooth muscle cell proliferation and migration and arterial wall thickening, resulting in a haemodynamically important increase in vascular resistance, particularly at the precapillary level. In addition, focal endothelial dysfunction allows entry of lipids into the vascular wall, thereby promoting formation of a lipid-rich fatty streak, the primary 'early' atherosclerotic lesion. Most of these changes, including endothelial injury, subintimal lipid-binding, cellular proliferation and migration, platelet aggregation and PDGF release are common to both hypertensive and early atherosclerotic processes and involve the participation of calcium ions as 'second messengers'. Thus, antihypertensive treatment with calcium antagonists may not only lead to a protective decrease in wall shear stress through a reduction in blood pressure, but may also inhibit those cellular processes within the vascular wall that are responsible for initiating atherosclerosis. Indeed, experimental as well as human studies have demonstrated a beneficial suppressant effect of calcium antagonists on the early stages of atherosclerosis.
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PMID:Hypertension treatment and prevention of new atherosclerotic plaque formation. 753 1


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