Amfepramone (diethylpropion) is an appetite-suppressant drug used for the treatment of overweight and obesity. It has been suggested that the systemic and central activity of amfepramone produces cardiovascular effects such as transient ischemic attacks and primary pulmonary hypertension. However, it is not known whether amfepramone produces immediate vascular effects when applied in vitro to r...

Vascular contractile hyporesponsiveness is an important mechanism underlying orthostatic intolerance after microgravity. Baroreceptor reflexes can modulate both pulmonary resistance and capacitance function and thus cardiac output. We hypothesized, therefore, that pulmonary vasoreactivity is impaired in the hindlimb-unweighted (HLU) rat model of microgravity. Pulmonary artery (PA) contractile r...

In this study, the aorta vasorelaxant, coronary calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) releasing, and atrial contractility effects of glyceryl nonivamide (GLNVA) were investigated in guinea pigs. In the isolated thoracic aorta, although GLNVA (0.01-50 microM) concentration dependently induced endothelium-independent relaxations and relaxed phenylephrine-(1.0 microM) induced contractions, it fai...

Mercury exposure induces endothelial dysfunction leading to loss of endothelium-dependent vasorelaxation due to decreased nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability via increased oxidative stress. Our aim was to investigate whether acute treatment with methyl mercury chloride changes the endothelium-dependent vasodilator response and to explore the possible mechanisms behind the observed effects. Wistar...

BACKGROUND The increasing incidence of diabetes mellitus (DM) is of great clinical significance. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether exposure of endothelium-intact aortic rings to simvastatin could have a vasorelaxant effect in diabetic rats. METHODS For induction of diabetes, streptozotocin (STZ) (60 mg/kg, i.p., single dose) was used. After 1 month, the cumulative reaction of iso...

Hydrogen sulfide (H(2)S), an endogenous gaseous mediator, produces both vasorelaxation and vasoconstriction at different concentrations. We found in the present study that NaHS, an H(2)S donor, produced stronger vasorelaxant and weaker vasoconstrictive effects in HEPES solution compared with those achieved in Krebs solution. We further screened the buffer components and found that bicarbonate (...

Iloprost is a prostacyclin analogue mainly used in the treatment of pulmonary hypertension. It is also effective for renal dysfunction during renal transplant and coronary artery bypass grafting surgery, but there have been few comparative experimental studies with iloprost. We aimed to compare vasorelaxant properties of iloprost, with those of diltiazem, nitroglycerin and papaverine on rat tho...

OBJECTIVE The vasorelaxant effect of 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) has been well characterised in animals. 2-AG is present in human vascular cells and is up-regulated in cardiovascular pathophysiology. However, the acute vascular actions of 2-AG have not been explored in humans. APPROACH Mesenteric arteries were obtained from patients receiving colorectal surgery and mounted on a myograph. Ar...

Peroxynitrite, formed endogenously by the near diffusion-limited reaction of nitric oxide with superoxide anion, induces vascular relaxation. This effect is subject to rapid tachyphylaxis, suggesting that peroxynitrite may alter subsequent vasorelaxant responses. The present study examined the effects of peroxynitrite on mean arterial pressure and hindquarter, renal, and mesenteric vascular res...