The effect of diet-induced, moderate elevation of serum cholesterol on vascular reactivity in isolated rabbit abdominal aortic rings was examined by using a series of vasoconstrictor and vasodilator agonists. Serum cholesterol of rabbits that were fed a cholesterol-free, casein-rich diet for 10 weeks was elevated approximately 4.5-fold compared with values found in control rabbits that were fed...

Inactivation of Kcc3 in a mixed 129/Sv×C57BL/6 mouse background has been previously found to increase systemic blood pressure (BP) through presumed neurogenic mechanisms. Yet, while this background is generally not considered ideal to investigate the cardiovascular system, KCC3 is also expressed in the arterial wall and proximal nephron. In the current study, the effects of Kcc3 ablation was in...

BACKGROUND Prenatal exposure to Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) produces hypertension in adult offspring rats. The present study was to explore the effects of prenatal inflammation on morphological and functional changes in the aorta from offspring rats and to further assess its susceptibility to cardiovascular diseases. METHODS AND RESULTS Pregnant rats were treated intraperitoneally on gestation D...

Fetal growth restriction (FGR) affects 3-8% of human pregnancies. Mouse models have provided important etiological data on FGR; they permit the assessment of treatment strategies on the physiological function of both mother and her developing offspring. Our study aimed to 1) develop a method to assess vascular function in fetal mice and 2) as a proof of principle ascertain whether a high dose o...

Background and Objective: The effect of chronic dietary soybean (Glycine max L.) on aortic reactivity of streptozotocin (STZ)-diabetic rats was studied. Materials and Methods: Male diabetic rats received soybean for 7 weeks 1 week after diabetes induction at weight ratios of 3 and 6%. Contractile responses to KCl and phenylephrine (PE) and relaxation response to acetylcholine (ACh) were obtaine...

BACKGROUND Aortic stiffness and small-artery structure and function share various risk factors; however, relations between these 2 measures of vascular function are complex and incompletely understood. METHODS AND RESULTS We examined hyperemic forearm blood flow, an indicator of microvascular structure and function, and aortic stiffness in 2045 participants (1107 women, mean age 61+/-9 years)...

We investigated whether exposure to small concentrations of lead alters blood pressure and vascular reactivity. Male Wistar rats were sorted randomly into the following two groups: control (Ct) and treatment with 100 ppm of lead (Pb), which was added to drinking water, for 30 days. Systolic blood pressure (BP) was measured weekly. Following treatment, aortic ring vascular reactivity was assesse...

Aortic valvular insufficiency caused by syphilis cannot be differentiated by murmur or other clinical characteristics from other causes of aortic insufficiency, and the aid of serological tests is often sought. Routine serological tests for syphilis, such as the VDRL slide test, which utilize cardiolipin antigens, are reactive in only 75 to 95 per cent. of patients with cardiovascular syphilis ...

BACKGROUND Preeclampsia is a human pregnancy-associated syndrome associated with hypertension, proteinuria, and endothelial dysfunction. We tested whether increased reactive oxygen species (superoxide and peroxynitrite) production and decreased bioavailability of the endothelial nitric oxide (NO) synthase (eNOS) cofactor tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) contributes to maternal endothelial dysfunction ...