The effects of thiol compounds and ebselen on nitric oxide activity in rat aortic vascular responses

Protective effects of ebselen on sodium-selenite-induced experimental cataract in rats

PURPOSE

To determine whether ebselen has a protective effect or antioxidative potential in a sodium-selenite-induced experimental cataract model.

SETTING

Fırat University, Elazığ, Turkey.

DESIGN

Experimental study.

METHODS

Twenty-one Sprague-Dawley rat pups were randomly divided into a control group, a sodium-selenite-induced-cataract group, and an ebselen-treated group; each group contained 7 rat pups. Rats in the control group received dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) intraperitoneally only and rats in the sodium-selenite-induced-cataract group received 30 nmol/g body weight sodium selenite subcutaneously and DMSO intraperitoneally 10 days postpartum. Rats in the ebselen group received 30 nmol/g body weight sodium selenite subcutaneously 10 days postpartum and were treated with 5 mg/kg body weight ebselen once a day for 4 consecutive days. Cataract development was assessed weekly for 3 weeks by slitlamp examination and graded using a scale. Reduced glutathione (GSH), total nitrite, and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels in lens supernatants were measured at the end of 3 weeks.

RESULTS

In the control group, all lenses were clear. In the ebselen-treated group, the mean cataract stage was significantly lower than in the sodium-selenite-induced-cataract group (P = .022). The GSH levels were significantly lower in the sodium-selenite-induced-cataract group than in the control and ebselen groups (P < .001). The MDA levels were lower in the ebselen group than in the sodium-selenite-induced-cataract group (P < .001). The mean total nitrite level was significantly lower in the sodium-selenite-induced-cataract group than in the ebselen group (P = .001).

CONCLUSIONS

Ebselen had a protective effect on cataract development in a sodium-selenite-induced experimental model. The protective effect of ebselen appears to be due to inhibition of oxidative stress.

FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE

No author has a financial or proprietary interest in any material or method mentioned.

Inhibition by ebselen on nitric oxide mediated relaxations in the rat anococcygeus muscle

The effect of 2-phenyl-1,2-benzisoselenazol-3(2H)-one (ebselen) on nitric oxide (NO) mediated responses and NO generation from NO donors were studied in vitro. In precontracted rat isolated anococcygeus muscles, relaxations induced by NO donors, electrical field stimulation and 5-[1-(phenylmethyl)-1H-indazole-3-yl]-2-furanmethanol (YC-1) were significantly inhibited by ebselen (100 microM), whereas responses elicited by papaverine and theophylline were not affected; those by 8-bromo-cyclic-guanosine-monophosphate (8-Br-cGMP) were slightly enhanced. NO generation from NO gas aqueous solution or acidified nitrite was not affected, but that from S-nitroso-N-acetyl-penicillamine (SNAP) was attenuated by ebselen, and the attenuation was reserved by glutathione. Both glutathione and cupric sulphate altered the ultraviolet spectrum of ebselen. These findings suggest that ebselen at high concentrations nonselectively inhibited NO-mediated responses, possibly through inhibiting soluble guanylate cyclase. Ebselen does not appear to directly interact with NO, but it may inhibit NO release from nitrosothiols by a thiol- and/or copper-dependent mechanism.

NO and the vasculature: where does it come from and what does it do?

Nitric oxide (NO) is involved in a large number of cellular processes and dysfunctions in NO production have been implicated in many different disease states. In the vasculature NO is released by endothelial cells where it modulates the underlying smooth muscle to regulate vascular tone. Due to the unique chemistry of NO, such as its reactive and free radical nature, it can interact with many different cellular constituents such as thiols and transition metal ions, which determine its cellular actions. In this review we also discuss many of the useful pharmacological tools that have been developed and used extensively to establish the involvement of NO in endothelium-derived relaxations. In addition, the recent literature identifying a potential source of NO in endothelial cells, which is not directly derived from endothelial nitric oxide synthase is examined. Finally, the photorelaxation phenomena, which mediates the release of NO from a vascular smooth muscle NO store, is discussed.