Abstract

The 15-hydroperoxy metabolite of arachidonic acid (15-hydroperoxyeicosatetraenoic acid; 15-HPETE) and its hydroxyderivative 15-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (15-HETE) are known to evoke contractions in a variety of isolated blood vessels. In this study, segments of isolated canine coronary, splenic, femoral and renal arteries were exposed to 15-HETE and 15-HPETE; both metabolites induced small basal relaxations followed by contractions at higher concentrations. The contractions were augmented by indomethacin and could be blocked by the thromboxane A2 receptor antagonists BM13177 and BM13505. In vessels in which the tone was raised with prostaglandin F2 alpha, both 15-lipoxygenase metabolites evoked marked relaxations, which were in part dependent on the presence of the endothelium. When the segments were contracted with norepinephrine or increased KCl concentration, 15-HETE and 15-HPETE induced relaxations followed by additional contractions. The relaxations to the fatty acid derivatives were not inhibited by BM13505. In tissues without endothelium, the relaxations to 15-HETE and 15-HPETE were completely blocked by indomethacin; in tissues with endothelium, indomethacin only partly inhibited the relaxations to 15-HETE, whereas the drug did not interfere with the relaxing effects of 15-HPETE. Our experiments indicate that in isolated canine arteries 15-lipoxygenase metabolites of arachidonic acid can 1) induce contractions, most likely by direct activation of thromboxane A2 receptors on smooth muscle cells, and 2) evoke relaxations that are in part endothelium dependent; the endothelium-independent part of the relaxations was inhibited by indomethacin. Thus, the relaxations to these metabolites seem to occur via the release of an endothelium-derived relaxing factor and via production of a cyclooxygenase metabolite.