Comparison of hemodynamic effects of nitric oxide (NO) donors with different NO-releasing properties in rats

Effect of sildenafil on ventricular arrhythmias in post-infarcted rat hearts

We have demonstrated that activation of ATP-sensitive potassium (K(ATP)) channels can attenuate sympathetic hyperinnervation. Sildenafil, a phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitor, has been shown to provide a preconditioning-like cardioprotective effect via opening of K(ATP) channels. The aim of this study was to investigate whether chronic administration of sildenafil attenuates cardiac sympathetic hyperinnervation after myocardial infarction through activation of K(ATP) channels and to compare it with the nitric oxide donor isosorbide dinitrate. Male Wistar infarcted rats induced by ligation of the anterior descending artery were randomized to either vehicle, nicorandil, sildenafil, isosorbide dinitrate, glibenclamide, or a combination of nicorandil and glibenclamide, or sildenafil and glibenclamide. Myocardial norepinephrine levels revealed a significant elevation in vehicle-treated rats compared with sham-operated rats, consistent with sympathetic hyperinnervation after infarction assessed by immunohistochemical analysis for tyrosine hydroxylase, growth associated factor 43 and neurofilament and by protein expression and mRNA of nerve growth factor. Sympathetic hyperinnervation was reduced after administering either nicorandil or sildenafil. Arrhythmic scores during programmed stimulation in the sildenafil-treated rats were significantly lower than those treated with the vehicle. Furthermore, the beneficial effects of sildenafil-induced were reversed by the addition of either glibenclamide or 5-hydroxydecanoate, implicating mitochondrial K(ATP) channels as the relevant target. Isosorbide dinitrate failed to confer similar antiarrhythmia. 1H-[1,2,4]oxadiazolo[4,3-α]quinoxalin-1-one, a soluble guanylyl cyclase inhibitor, did not influence the effect of sildenafil on the nerve growth factor. These data indicate that sildenafil after infarction attenuated sympathetic hyperinnervation and arrhythmias by activation of mitochondrial K(ATP) channels through a guanylyl cyclase-cGMP-independent pathway.

Nitric oxide, a double edged sword in cancer biology: Searching for therapeutic opportunities

Nitric oxide (NO) is a pleiotropic molecule critical to a number of physiological and pathological processes. The last decade has witnessed major advances in dissecting NO biology and its role in cancer pathogenesis. However, the complexity of the interactions between different levels of NO and several aspects of tumor development/progression has led to apparently conflicting findings. Furthermore, both anti-NO and NO-based anticancer strategies appear effective in several preclinical models. This paradoxical dichotomy is leaving investigators with a double challenge: to determine the net impact of NO on cancer behavior and to define the therapeutic role of NO-centered anticancer strategies. Only a comprehensive and dynamic view of the cascade of molecular and cellular events underlying tumor biology and affected by NO will allow investigators to exploit the potential antitumor properties of drugs interfering with NO metabolism. Available data suggest that NO should be considered neither a universal target nor a magic bullet, but rather a signal transducer to be modulated according to the molecular makeup of each individual cancer and the interplay with conventional antineoplastic agents.

Hemodynamic effects of the nitric oxide donor DETA/NO in mice

(Z)-1-[N-(2-aminoethyl)-N-(2-ammonioethyl)amino]diazen-1-ium-1,2-diolate (DETA/NO) is a recently synthesized member of NO-releasing, polyamine zwitterions, the so-called NONOates, that spontaneously liberate NO in aqueous solutions. The aim of this study was to determine the hemodynamic effects of DETA/ NO in normotensive and hypertensive mice. Male Swiss Outbred mice were implanted with TA11PA-C20 blood pressure devices (Data Sciences International, USA). After recovery (7-10 days), blood pressure was monitored for 10 days while mice were receiving saline (0.1 ml/20 g/day, s.c.). Mice were then treated every four hours for 1 day with either DETA/NO 60 mg/kg i.p. or the inactive metabolite, diethylenetriamine 38 mg/kg (molar equivalent) i.p. After a 2 week wash-out period, mice were treated with adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH: 500 microg/kg/day, s.c.) for 10 days and re-challenged with DETA/NO or diethylenetriamine. Results were expressed as mean +/- SEM. After 10 days of saline treatment, baseline systolic and diastolic blood pressure (BP) were similar for animals subsequently receiving DETA/NO or the amine (123 +/- 1/95 +/- 3 and 124 +/- 1/92 +/- 0.2 mmHg) respectively. DETA/NO induced a profound fall in BP [Systolic: 74 +/- 4 mmHg (-40 +/- 3%); Diastolic: 46 +/- 4 mmHg (-52 +/- 4%)] and an increase in heart rate [729 +/- 33 bpm (32 +/- 2%)] within the first 80 minutes. Diethylenetriamine had no effect. ACTH treatment increased BP in both groups (137 +/- 16/108 +/- 12 and 161 +/- 1/142 +/- 1 mmHg) respectively. DETA/ NO induced a profound fall in blood pressure [Systolic: 92 +/- 11 mmHg (-32 +/- 7%); Diastolic: 68 +/- 10 mmHg (-35 +/- 10%)] and an increase in heart rate [613 +/- 36 bpm (18 +/- 6%)] within the first 80 minutes. Again diethylenetriamine had no significant effect. There was no significant effect on body weight with any treatment. Thus DETA/NO has potent blood pressure lowering effects in both normotensive and hypertensive mice.

Nitric Oxide Donation Lowers Blood Pressure in Adrenocorticotrophic Hormone‐Induced Hypertensive Rats

Adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) elevates systolic blood pressure (SBP) and lowers plasma reactive nitrogen intermediates in rats. We assessed the ability of NO donation from isosorbide dinitrate (ISDN) to prevent or reverse the hypertension caused by ACTH. In the prevention study, male Sprague Dawley rats were treated with ACTH (0.2 mg/kg/day) or saline control for 8 days, with either concurrent ISDN (100 mg/kg/day) via the drinking water or water alone. Animals receiving ISDN via the drinking water were provided with nitrate-free water for 8 hours every day. In the reversal study ISDN (100 mg/kg) or vehicle was given as a single oral dose on day 8. SBP was measured daily by the indirect tail-cuff method in conscious, restrained rats. ACTH caused a significant increase in SBP compared with saline (P < 0.0015). In the prevention study, chronic administration of ISDN (100 mg/kg/day) did not affect the SBP in either group. In the reversal study, ISDN significantly lowered SBP in ACTH-treated rats at 1 and 2.5 hours (132 +/- 3 mmHg (1 h) and 131 +/- 2 mmHg (2.5 h) versus 143 +/- 3 mmHg (0 h), P < 0.002), but not to control levels. It had no effect in control (saline treated) rats. In conclusion, the lowering of SBP by NO donation is consistent with the notion that ACTH-induced hypertension involves an impaired bioavailability or action of NO in vivo.