abstract background and objective: vascular abnormality and dysfunction plays an important role in the pathogenesis of vascular disease in diabetic state. in this study, we aimed to investigate whether an in vitro exposure of endothelium-intact aortic rings to melissa officinalis (lemon balm, mo) aqueous extract could have a beneficial effect in rats with subchronic diabetes. materials and meth...

Zizyphi Spinosi semen (ZSS) is one of the most widely used traditional Chinese herbs with protective effects on the cardiovascular system. It is not clear whether betulinic acid (BA), the key active constituent of ZSS, has beneficial cardiovascular effects on N(ω)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester hydrochloride (L-NAME)-induced hypertensive rats. The objective of this study was to investigate the e...

Cyclosporine A (CsA) is an immunosuppressive agent that also causes hypertension. The effect of CsA on vascular responses was determined in Sprague-Dawley rats and isolated rat aortic rings. Male rats weighing 250 to 300 g were given either CsA (25 mg. kg-1. d-1) in olive oil or vehicle by intraperitoneal injection for 7 days. CsA administration produced a 42% increase (P<0.001) in mean arteria...

Abstract Background and Objective: Vascular abnormality and dysfunction plays an important role in the pathogenesis of vascular disease in diabetic state. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether an in vitro exposure of endothelium-intact aortic rings to Melissa officinalis (lemon balm, MO) aqueous extract could have a beneficial effect in rats with subchronic diabetes. Materials and Meth...

HYPOTHESIS Flutamide, a testosterone receptor antagonist, produces various beneficial effects in male rats following hemorrhagic shock, possibly as a result of a direct vasodilating effect on large and small vessels in the rat. DESIGN, INTERVENTIONS, AND MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The aorta and the small intestine were isolated from normal male and female Sprague-Dawley rats. Isolated aortic rings...

The goal of this in vitro study was to examine the effects of pre-acidification and pre-akalinization on the lipid emulsion-mediated reversal of toxic dose levobupivacaine-induced vasodilation in isolated rat aorta. Isolated aortic rings with and without the nitric oxide synthase inhibitor N(ω)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) were exposed to four types of Krebs solution (pH 7.0, 7.2, 7.4...

Acute increases in cellular protein O-linked N-acetyl-glucosamine (O-GlcNAc) modification (O-GlcNAcylation) have been shown to have protective effects in the heart and vasculature. We hypothesized that d-glucosamine (d-GlcN) and Thiamet-G, two agents that increase protein O-GlcNAcylation via different mechanisms, inhibit TNF-α-induced oxidative stress and vascular dysfunction by suppressing ind...

This study was designed to investigate the effects of L-arginine (the substrate for the formation of endothelium-derived nitric oxide) in vascular tissues. Rat aortic rings, with or without endothelium, were suspended in organ chambers for the measurement of isometric tension; they were contracted with phenylephrine (10-6 M). After a short incubation period (0.5 hour) in physiological salt solu...

BACKGROUND Lidocaine is an approved local anesthetic and Class 1B antiarrhythmic with a number of ancillary properties. Our aim was to investigate lidocaine's vasoreactivity properties in intact versus denuded rat thoracic aortic rings, and the effect of inhibitors of nitric oxide (NO), prostenoids, voltage-dependent Kv and KATP channels, membrane Na+/K+ pump, and A2a and A2b receptors. METHO...