Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0038454 (stroke)
147,016 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

1. Isolated basilar arteries from spontaneously hypertensive stroke-prone rats (SHRSP) are more sensitive to the contractile effect of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) than those from normotensive Wistar Kyoto rats (WKY). This has been attributed to a different proportion of 5-HT receptor subtypes mediating these responses. In the present study we have examined if differences in nitric oxide release could also contribute to this difference in sensitivity to 5-HT. 2. At rest, the normalized internal diameter was significantly smaller in SHRSP (297.4 +/- 3.5 microm, n = 88) than in WKY (375.1 +/- 4.0 microm, n = 62, P<0.01) arteries. The contractile response to 100 mM KCl was higher in WKY (3.57 +/- 0.15 mN mm(-1), n = 22) than in SHRSP arteries (2.32 +/- 0.20 mN mm(-1), n = 28, P<0.01). 3. When added on the plateau of contraction to 5-HT (1 microM), acetylcholine (ACh, 3 microM) evoked significant relaxation in all preparations from WKY (n = 20), but only in 15 out of 26 preparations from SHRSP. The mean relaxations were 55.4 +/- 5.2% in WKY and 20.6 +/- 4.6% in SHRSP (as % of the contractile tone evoked by 5-HT: P<0.01). 4. The NO synthase inhibitor N(omega)-nitro-L-arginine (L-NOARG, 0.1 mM) produced a similar increase in tone in both WKY and SHRSP. This tone was equal (in % of the contractile response to 100 mM KCl) to 70.8 +/- 4.4% in WKY (n = 20) and 67.6 +/- 5.9% in SHRSP (n=26) and was reversed by L-arginine (1 mM) and by 1,4-dihydropyridine calcium channel blockers (10 nM nisoldipine, 10 nM lacidipine, 100 nM nifedipine). The L-NOARG-induced tone was absent when the arteries were bathed in phosphate-free Krebs (pH 7.4). 5. EC50 values of 5-HT were about four fold smaller in SHRSP than in WKY arteries (P<0.01). The maximal response to 5-HT (Emax) was higher than 100 mM KCl-contraction in SHRSP but not in WKY arteries. Removal of endothelium produced a shift to the left of the 5-HT curve in WKY, but not in SHRSP arteries. 6. When evoked in phosphate-free Krebs, the contractile responses to 5-HT showed tachyphylaxis, but the responses were reproducible by adding the agonist at 30 min intervals. In such conditions, EC50 values of 5-HT were about two fold smaller in SHRSP than in WKY arteries (P<0.01). In phosphate-free Krebs, the blockade of NO synthase did not change the contractile response to 100 mM KCl; it reduced EC50 and increased Emax of 5-HT in WKY, but not in SHRSP. 7. These results confirm that the sensitivity to 5-HT is higher in basilar artery isolated from SHRSP than in those from WKY. They show that endothelium-dependent vasorelaxation to ACh is impaired in SHRSP. The finding that removal of endothelium or blockade of NO synthase augmented the contractile response to 5-HT in WKY, but not in SHRSP basilar arteries indicates that the difference in responsiveness to 5-HT observed between WKY and SHRSP basilar arteries might be, at least in part, related to dissimilarities in NO release. Furthermore, the L-NOARG-induced contraction sensitive to calcium channel blockers indicates that, in basilar arteries, NO production might lower L-type calcium channel opening and thereby control the tone of the vessels.
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PMID:Role of nitric oxide in the contractile response to 5-hydroxytryptamine of the basilar artery from Wistar Kyoto and stroke-prone rats. 924 38

Central nervous system dysfunction continues to represent significant morbidity and associated mortality in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Neurological dysfunction is most exaggerated in patients undergoing hypothermic circulatory arrest (HCA). Although surgical techniques, anesthetic management, and postoperative care have significantly improved over the past two decades, the incidence of stroke and other neurocognitive deficits remains problematic. Understanding the mechanisms of cell death associated with HCA may provide information that is germane to all types of cerebral injury involved in cardiac surgery. Using a closed-chest cardiopulmonary bypass model, dogs underwent 2 hours of circulatory arrest at 18 degrees C followed by resuscitation and recovery for 3 days. Animals were assessed functionally by a species-specific behavioral scale, histologically for patterns of selective neuronal necrosis and receptor autoradiography for NMDA glutamate receptor subtype expression. Using a selective NMDA (-glutamate) receptor antagonist (MK801), an AMPA-antagonist (NBQX) and a nonspecific neuroprotectant (GM1-ganglioside), the role of glutamate excitotoxicity in the development of HCA-induced brain injury was documented and validated. Using a similar canine preparation, a microdialysis technique was used to evaluate the role of nitric oxide in neuronal death. Arginine plus oxygen is converted to nitric oxide plus citrulline by the action of nitric oxide synthase. Simultaneous infusion of artificial cerebrospinal fluid containing L-[14C] arginine or L-[14C] arginine and L-NAME (a nitric oxide synthase inhibitor) was performed in contralateral hemispheres. Citrulline recovery in the cerebrospinal fluid, citrulline production in vitro from canine cortical homogenates, and nitric oxide metabolites in the serum were all significantly increased during HCA and reperfusion. These studies demonstrated that neurotoxicity following HCA involves a significant and early induction of neuronal NOS expression and neuronal processes leading to widespread augmented NO production in the brain. Continued research into the pathophysiologic mechanisms involved in cerebral injury will undoubtedly yield a safe and reliable neuroprotectant strategy.
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PMID:Pathophysiology of cerebral injury and future management. 927 60

Neuronal nitric oxide synthase produces nitric oxide, a radical involved in neurotransmission as well as in cytotoxicity during stroke and neurodegenerative diseases. In the adult Wistar rat neuronal nitric oxide synthase-positive neurons are inhomogenously distributed along defined cortical areas, with highest densities (18 cells/mm2) in cingular area 1, piriform cortex, frontal motor area Fr 2 and in the medial visual association area Oc 2MM. A medium packing density of neuronal nitric oxide synthase neurons (10/mm2) characterizes primary sensory areas, whereas retrosplenial cortices contain lowest cell numbers (3-5/mm2). The data suggest that functions of certain cortical areas are more dependent on intracortically produced nitric oxide than others, and that cortical injury may cause more severe nitric oxide related cytotoxicity in areas with higher numbers of neuronal nitric oxide synthase-positive neurons.
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PMID:Nitric oxide synthase-expressing neurons are area-specifically distributed within the cerebral cortex of the rat. 930 Apr 24

We investigated whether chronic deficiency of nitric oxide (NO) in stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRSP) precipitates stroke and whether exogenous nitrates and other pharmacological agents can prevent stroke. Groups of five-week-old male SHRSP rats chronically received saline, L-nitro-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) in saline, L-NAME along with pharmacological agents (L-arginine, isosorbide dinitrate, enalapril maleate and L-158,809; angiotensin receptor antagonist; 5,7-dimethyl-2-ethyl-3(-)[[2'-(1H-tetrazol-5-yl)biphenyl-4-yl]meth yl]-imidazo[4,5-b]pyridine) in saline to drink. The development of visible neurological deficits following various treatments was considered as an occurrence of stroke. Within hours following onset of stroke, the rats were anesthetized, catheterized and attached to a Cardiomax blood pressure recorder. SHRSP treated with L-NAME (10+/-2 mg/day) developed stroke in 11+/-2 days while no neurological deficit was seen in animals receiving saline till the end of the study period (35 days). Blockade of the renin-angiotensin system with enalapril or L-158,809 significantly delayed the onset of stroke (19+/-2 and 20+/-2 days, respectively), but caused only slight reductions in mean arterial blood pressure. These results suggest that chronic inhibition of NO synthase in SHRSP is associated with the development of stroke and such stroke appears to be renin-angiotensin system-dependent.
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PMID:Angiotensin receptor antagonists delay nitric oxide-deficient stroke in stroke-prone rats. 931 59

Endocardial endothelial morphology and the physiological modulatory role of nitric oxide (NO) were studied in an in vitro preparation of the working intact heart of the frog Rana esculenta, which lacks coronary vasculature and is thus devoid of a coronary vascular endothelium. En face confocal scanning laser microscopy of samples of perfused fixed hearts demonstrated the presence of NO synthase as a cytoplasmic constituent of the endocardial endothelial cells. Stroke volume (as a measure of performance in paced frog hearts) and stroke work (as an index of systolic function) increased by approximately 5 % after inhibition of the NO-cGMP pathway with 10(-4 )mol l-1 NG-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester and by approximately 8 % after inhibition with 10(-6 )mol l-1 Methylene Blue. In contrast, stroke volume and stroke work decreased by approximately 22 % after activation of the NO-cGMP pathway with sodium nitroprusside (10(-4 )mol l-1), while 3-morpholinosydnonimine (5x10(-8) to 10(-5 )mol l-1) caused a decrease of between 15 and 30 % and 8-bromo-cGMP (10(-6 )mol l-1) a decrease of approximately 8 %. These responses were significantly attenuated after exposure of the ventricular luminal to Triton X-100 (0.05 %, 0.1 ml), which itself increased performance (by over 10 %) without detectable morphological changes. These results show that the endocardial endothelium of Rana esculenta produces amounts of NO sufficient to modulate ventricular performance.
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PMID:Endocardial endothelium in the avascular heart of the frog: morphology and role of nitric oxide. 936 19

The relative importance of hemodynamic factors in the pathogenesis of thrombotic or embolic stroke is unclear. Of particular therapeutic interest are those substances that facilitate vasodilation and the clearance of platelet aggregates in the compromised microvasculature. A likely contributor to these functions is nitric oxide because it is known to inhibit platelet aggregability and promote vascular relaxation. To investigate the involvement of nitric oxide in the hemodynamic changes after experimental ischemia, photochemically induced nonocclusive common carotid artery thrombosis (CCAT) was studied. CCAT is a rat model of unilateral carotid artery stenosis and platelet embolization to the brain. This study characterized the acute hemodynamic consequences of CCAT and the resultant pattern of platelet deposits with and without nitric oxide synthase inhibition by nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME). In addition, the subacute local cerebral blood flow changes were studied at 24 hours. Right CCAT was produced in 30 male Wistar rats injected with (111)In-labeled platelets. Between 5 and 15 minutes after thrombosis, rats were treated with either 15 mg/kg of L-NAME (intravenously) or saline vehicle. Hemodynamic changes were studied 30 to 45 minutes after thrombosis using [14C]iodoantipyrine autoradiography. Eight coronal levels were analyzed, and cortical and subcortical regions of interest were defined. Significant increases were observed in total platelets in the ipsilateral hemisphere after L-NAME treatment, and in the distribution of platelets in the anterior frontal and occipital cortices with nitric oxide synthase inhibition, encompassing the anterior and posterior border zone areas of the ipsilateral cortex. Otherwise, foci of labeled platelets were detected throughout the ipsilateral and contralateral hemispheres. Mean local cerebral blood flow images (n = 5) revealed a moderate bilateral global reduction in flow acutely, which normalized in the untreated thrombosed group by 24 hours. In contrast, the L-NAME-treated groups (sham and experimental) had lasting, widespread reductions in flow of approximately 25%. Pairwise comparisons between groups showed that CCAT/L-NAME was significantly different from shams in the corpus callosum and different from L-NAME shams in the internal capsule (P < 0.05) These hemodynamic and platelet accumulation changes may partially account for the aggravation of cognitive and sensorimotor deficits previously reported in this model of thromboembolic stroke.
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PMID:The effect of nitric oxide synthase inhibition on acute platelet accumulation and hemodynamic depression in a rat model of thromboembolic stroke. 939 Jun 50

1. We employed the technique of impedance spectral analysis to investigate the role of endogenous nitric oxide (NO) in the regulation of steady and pulsatile haemodynamics in Wistar Kyoto rat (WKY). 2. A total of 12 WKYs was anaesthetized with pentobarbitol sodium (40 mg kg-1, i.p.) and artificially ventilated with an animal respirator. The aortic pressure wave was monitored with a high fidelity Millar sensor, and aortic flow wave with an electromagnetic flow probe. The pressure and flow waves were subjected to Fourier transform for the analysis of impedance spectra. 3. The baseline cardiovascular parameters were mean arterial pressure (APm) 95 +/- 9 mmHg, heart rate (HR) 338 +/- 9 b.p.m., stroke volume (SV) 0.23 +/- 0.01 ml, cardiac output (CO) 77.8 +/- 1.6 ml min-1, total peripheral resistance (TPR) 98 +/- 11 (x10(3)) dyne s cm-5, characteristic impedance (Zc) 2046 +/- 141 dyne s cm-5, arterial compliance at mean AP (Cm) 3.78 +/- 0.22 microliters mmHg-1 and backward pulse wave (Pb) 12.9 +/- 0.6 mmHg. 4. An NO synthase inhibitor, NG-nitro-L-arginine monomethyl ester (L-NAME) was administered at graded intravenous doses. This agent caused dose-dependent increases in AP and TPR with decreases in HR. At an accumulative dose of 10 mg kg-1, APm was increased by 29 +/- 3 mmHg (+31%) and TPR by 49 +/- 6 (x10(3)) dyne s cm-5 (+50%), while HR was reduced by 37 +/- 5 b.p.m. (-11%) and CO by 10.4 +/- 0.8 ml min-1 (-14%). The pulsatile haemodynamics including Zc and Pb were slightly increased by 14-15%. Cm was decreased by 1.09 microliters mmHg-1 (-29%). L-NAME also did not significantly affect the ventricular work including the steady, oscillatory and total work. 5. Aminoguanidine, a specific inhibitor for inducible NO synthase (iNOS), in dose 10-60 mg kg-1 i.v. did not alter the AP, HR and other parameters. The result indicated that blockade of constitutive NOS, but not iNOS is involved in these changes. 6. Angiotensin II (Ang) in various infusion doses was used to produce a profile of AP increase similar to that caused by L-NAME. Ang remarkably increased Zc, while TPR was moderately elevated. The pattern of haemodynamic changes was different from that following L-NAME. 7. The results suggest that blockade of the endogenous NO affects predominantly the arterial pressure and peripheral resistance. The Windkessel functions such as arterial impedance and pulse wave reflection are slightly increased. Ventricular works are not significantly altered.
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PMID:Acute effects of nitric oxide blockade with L-NAME on arterial haemodynamics in the rat. 940 92

Diminished nitric oxide (NO) production has been implicated in the pathogenesis of salt-sensitive hypertension. We questioned whether such a defect is responsible for the malignant hypertension and nephrosclerosis in stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRSP) fed a high-salt/stroke-prone diet (S) versus a regular diet (R). NO release from 30-minute incubates of cortex and outer and inner medulla were studied in SHRSP at 10, 12, and 16 weeks of age on the S diet versus R diet. SHRSP-S (n=16) exhibited a marked age-dependent increase in NO release, especially in the cortex. Increases were only modest in SHRSP-R (n=21). At 16 weeks, cortical NO was 93+/-25 versus 6+/-1 pmol/mg tissue in SHRSP-S versus SHRSP-R (P<.001). Immunohistochemical staining increased mostly for neuronal, slightly for endothelial, and negligibly for inducible isoforms of NO synthase and was predominantly in the cortex of SHRSP-S versus SHRSP-R. Despite similar hypertension in SHRSP-S versus SHRSP-R (mean arterial pressure, 174+/-7 versus 177+/-2 mm Hg), malignant nephrosclerosis was seen only in SHRSP-S, affecting 22+/-6% of glomeruli and 23+/-4 vessels per 100 glomeruli by 16 weeks. N omega-nitro-L-arginine (15 mg/kg per day) in SHRSP-S (n=6) abrogated the increase in cortical NO but further augmented the hypertension and accelerated lesion development. Wistar-Kyoto rats at 16 weeks on the R diet (n=8) had NO levels similar to those of SHRSP-R, showed increased cortical NO to only 28+/-10 pmol/mg on the S diet (n=9) (P<.05 versus SHRSP-S), but remained normotensive and lesion-free. We conclude that hypertension and lesion development in SHRSP are not due to deficient renal NO. Accelerated onset of malignant nephrosclerosis by NO synthase inhibition suggests that NO is protective in these animals, mitigating the effects of hypertension and S diet on renal pathology.
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PMID:Regional renal nitric oxide release in stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats. 940 70

A deficiency of nitric oxide may be responsible for the increased vascular resistance associated with human essential hypertension and that seen in animal models of hypertension. Premenopausal females are relatively protected from hypertension and cardiovascular complications. Levels of superoxide can influence the availability of nitric oxide. We hypothesize that there are differences in nitric oxide availability between stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRSP) and Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKY) and that superoxide may be responsible for at least some of these differences. We studied vascular reactivity in endothelium-intact aortic rings from WKY and SHRSP. We measured nitric oxide synthase activity in endothelial cells removed from aortas and also measured circulating nitrite/nitrate levels. We found the response to N(G)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester to be significantly greater in WKY compared with SHRSP (95% CI: 20 to 174; P=.015) and in females compared with males in WKY (95% CI: 143 to 333; P=.00004) and SHRSP (95% CI: 70 to 224; P=.0006). Endothelial nitric oxide synthase activity was significantly greater in SHRSP compared with WKY (95% CI: 2.3 to 17.6; P=.016). The EC50 for relaxation to carbachol was significantly greater in male rats compared with female rats (95% CI: -1.1 to -0.2; P=.003) within the SHRSP strain. The maximum relaxation to carbachol was significantly attenuated in stroke prone spontaneously hypertensive compared with Wistar-Kyoto rats (95% CI: 1.7 to 14.4; P=.015). Diethyldithiocarbamate had a significantly greater effect on the stroke prone spontaneously hypertensive rats' carbachol response than that of Wistar-Kyoto rats (95% CI: 14.3 to 47.0; P=.0008). We conclude that superoxide may be responsible for strain differences in vascular reactivity, whereas nitric oxide availability may be responsible for sex differences independently of endothelial nitric oxide synthase activity and superoxide.
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PMID:Sex differences in the abundance of endothelial nitric oxide in a model of genetic hypertension. 940 76

Cardiotrophin-1 (CT-1), a newly discovered cytokine, has been shown to induce cardiac hypertrophy in vitro and in vivo. The present study examined the effects of CT-1 on haemodynamics and cardiac function. The measurements of haemodynamic parameters were made using in-dwelling catheters and flow probes in conscious, unrestrained rats. Intravenous administration of CT-1 caused a dose-dependent decrease in mean arterial pressure (MAP), and an increase in heart rate (HR). CT-1 (100 micrograms/kg) significantly elevated cardiac output and HR, and decreased MAP and systemic vascular resistance. Stroke volume was unaltered, suggesting that the CT-1 induced increase in cardiac output was secondary to increased HR. There was no significant difference in left ventricular maximal dP/dt between the CT-1-treated and vehicle-treated groups, suggesting that CT-1 might not induce a meaningful change in ventricular contractility. Pretreatment with intravenous N omega-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester, a specific inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase, significantly attenuated the depressor and tachycardic responses to CT-1. These results indicate that nitric oxide plays an important role in mediating the haemodynamic effects of CT-1.
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PMID:Effects of cardiotrophin-1 on haemodynamics and cardiac function in conscious rats. 950 41


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