Abstract

The mechanism whereby endothelial modulation of drug-induced vascular responses might change during hypertension was examined. Acetylcholine (ACh) (1 microM) induced maximal relaxation of aortic ring segments with intact endothelium from both Wistar-Kyoto, normotensive rats (WKY) and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) at 5 to 6 weeks of age. At 15 to 18 weeks of age the relaxation response to ACh was reduced in rings from both SHR and WKY (to a greater extent in SHR) and was attenuated even more in the deoxycorticosterone acetate (DOCA)-salt hypertensive rat. The contractile responses of aortic preparations to norepinephrine (NE) (0.1 microM) were similar between 5-6-week-old and 15-18-week-old WKY, but were increased in 15-18-week-old SHR compared to 5-6-week-old SHR. Endothelial cell removal increased contractile responses to NE to a greater extent in WKY than SHR but this did not affect that seen in DOCA-salt hypertensive rats. Methylene blue treatment increased contractions of aortic rings with intact endothelium from 15-18-week-old WKY and SHR to the level detected in rubbed arteries, but it did not affect the NE-induced constriction of intact aortic rings from DOCA-salt hypertensive rats. Basal cyclic GMP concentrations in intact aortic rings were not different between SHR and WKY at 5 to 6 weeks of age. The basal aortic cyclic GMP was unchanged in WKY at 15 to 18 weeks of age, but decreased in SHR and in DOCA-salt hypertensive rats of the same age.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)