Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0037315 (sleep apnea)
 8,000 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The vascular endothelial cell is a multipotent cell which has several functions: transport barrier, phagocytosis, coagulation/anticoagulation, fibrinolysis, autocrine/paracrine and metabolic functions. The release of vasoactive agents, such as the vasodilators EDRF (NO) and EDHF, and vasoconstrictors, such as endothelin (ET), represents an important local mechanism altering the balance of vasodilation/ vasoconstriction of the vascular smooth muscle cell. Inhibition of the synthesis of NO by exogenous (e.g. L-NAME) or endogenous (e.g. ADMA) L-arginine analogues may cause transient or sustained hypertension. A similar effect may be achieved by continuous administration of the potent vasoconstrictor ET. Endothelial dysfunction, associated with a deficient NO production and release as well an enhanced ET generation, may be present in some forms of vascular disease, such as hypertension, atherosclerosis, diabetes mellitus or sleep apnea. Whether such alterations may be a cause of hypertension and involved in the maintenance of high blood pressure or whether they represent a consequence of the hypertensive disease remains to be concluded. Furthermore, while there is emerging evidence that endothelial dysfunction in cardiovascular disease may be reversed by therapy, it remains to be determined whether measures of endothelial function in man may serve as predictors for morbidity or mortality.
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PMID:Measures of endothelial function as an endpoint in hypertension? 949 29

Recurrent episodic hypoxia (EH) is a feature of sleep apnea that may be responsible for some chronic cardiovascular sequelae such as systemic hypertension. Chronic EH (8 h/day for 35 days) causes elevation of diurnal resting (unstimulated) mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) in the rat. We used in vivo video microscopy to examine arteriolar reactivity in the cremaster muscle of male Sprague-Dawley rats subjected to 35 days of EH. Cremaster muscles of EH (n = 6) and control (n = 6) rats were exposed to varying doses of norepinephrine (NE) (10(-10) to 10(-5) M), ACh (10(-9) to 10(-5) M), and endothelin-1 (10(-12) to 10(-8) M). In a separate experiment, EH (n = 5) and control (n = 6) rats were given one dose of a nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibitor N(G)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME; 10(-5) M). We also examined endothelial NOS mRNA from the kidneys of EH-stimulated and control (unstimulated) rats. Telemetry-monitored EH rats showed a 16-mmHg increase in MAP over 35 days, whereas control rats showed no change. The response to NE and endothelin-1 were similar for EH and control rats. ACh vasodilatation of arterioles in EH rats was significantly attenuated compared with that of controls. The degree of vasoconstriction in response to blockade of the nitric oxide system by L-NAME was significantly less (83% of baseline diameter with L-NAME) for arterioles of EH rats compared with that for controls (61% of baseline diameter), implying lower basal resting nitric oxide release in the EH rats. Whole kidney mRNA endothelial NOS levels were not different between groups. These data support the hypothesis that chronic elevation of blood pressure associated with EH involves increased peripheral resistance from decreased basal release or production of nitric oxide after 35 days of EH.
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PMID:Altered vascular reactivity in arterioles of chronic intermittent hypoxic rats. 1129 97

Obstructive sleep apnea is characterized by intermittent hypoxia (IH) during sleep and predisposes to endothelial dysfunction. Obesity is a major risk factor for the occurrence of sleep apnea. The present study compared the functional impact of low- (IH10; 10 hypoxic events/h) and high-frequency (IH60; 60 hypoxic events/h) IH for 4 wk on endothelial function in male C57BL/6 mice with or without high-fat (HF) diet-induced obesity. Mean arterial blood pressure (tail cuff method) was increased in obese mice after IH60 exposure, i.e., HF + IH60 group. The serum levels of the oxidative stress marker malondialdehyde were augmented in lean IH60 and HF groups, with a further increase in HF + IH60 but a reduction in HF + IH10 mice compared with the HF group. Vascular responsiveness was assessed as changes in isometric tension in isolated arteries. Relaxations to the endothelium-dependent vasodilator acetylcholine were impaired in HF + IH60 aortae. Endothelium-dependent contractions (EDC; response to acetylcholine in the presence of the nitric oxide synthase inhibitor l-NAME) in carotid arteries were augmented in the HF group, but this HF-induced augmentation was suppressed by low-frequency IH exposure. The addition of apocynin (antioxidant) reduced EDC in HF and HF + IH60 groups but not in HF + IH10 group. In conclusion, these findings suggest that exposure of obese mice to mild IH exerts preconditioning-like suppression of endothelium-dependent and oxidative stress-mediated contractions. When IH severity increases, this suppression diminishes and endothelial dysfunction accelerates. NEW & NOTEWORTHY The present study demonstrates, for the first time, that low-frequency intermittent hypoxia may exert a preconditioning-like suppression of oxidative stress-induced endothelium-dependent contractions in mice with diet-induced obesity. This relative suppression was diminished as intermittent hypoxia became more severe, and a deleterious effect on endothelial function emerged.
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PMID:Low but not high frequency of intermittent hypoxia suppresses endothelium-dependent, oxidative stress-mediated contractions in carotid arteries of obese mice. 3009 68