1,2-diacylglycerol content in thoracic aorta of spontaneously hypertensive rats

Liver oleic acid biogenesis is impaired during the prehypertensive period in the spontaneously hypertensive rat

In the present study, we have investigated the liver microsomal stearic acid delta9 desaturation, and the fatty acid composition of liver microsomal total lipids in 10- and 30-day-old spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs), compared to the normotensive Wistar Kyoto (WKY) control rats. So as to avoid any influence related to the diet, the composition of the milk being different in SHR and WKY strains, the pups were suckled by adoptive normotensive female Wistar. After weaning, the 30-day-old rats were fed a standard commercial diet and then killed. Our results show lower liver microsomal delta9 desaturase activities in the 10- and 30-day-old SHR versus the WKY of the same age. The fatty acid composition of the SHR liver microsomal total lipids are not in agreement with the changes in the delta9 desaturase activities at the two studied ages. This phenomenon depends not only on desaturation/elongation but also on other interacting aspects of lipid metabolism including oxidation, substrate availability, acyl exchange, and eicosanoid synthesis, as well as hormonal status.

Composition en acides gras des hémisphères cérébraux de rats spontanément hypertendus allaités par des femelles Wistar

Total lipid fatty acid composition was investigated in brain hemispheres of male Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats (SHR), compared with normotensive Wistar Kyoto rats (WKY) used as controls. Both strains were suckled by adoptive Wistar mothers, and then fed a standard diet after weaning. No difference was observed between the two hemispheres of WKY killed either at 10 or 30 days. In SHR killed at 10 days, the two hemispheres showed differences, SHR left hemispheres exhibiting greater fatty acid composition changes than those of WKY, phenomenon that toned down at 30 days. Hence, SHR pups showed a different total lipid fatty acid composition of their brain hemispheres when compared with their WKY controls, though the two strains received the same diet. Genetically programmed hypertension might be, directly or not, involved in these changes.

Desaturase activities are depleted before and after weaning in liver microsomes of spontaneously hypertensive rats

In the present study, we have investigated the microsomal linoleic acid desaturation steps into arachidonic acid in 10- and 30-day-old spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR), as compared to their normotensive control rats, Wistar Kyoto (WKY). Suckled by adoptive Wistar normotensive female, the SHR and WKY were fed the same diet. Our results show lower Delta 6 and Delta 5 desaturase activities (the limiting steps in the bioconversion of linoleic acid into arachidonic acid) in the young SHR, as compared to the WKY normotensive rats. The fatty acid composition of liver microsomal total lipids evidences a higher proportion of linoleic acid in SHR than in WKY, in agreement with the partially depleted desaturase activities. Such a loss of desaturase activities may be under the control of hormones involved in the regulation of SHR blood pressure.

Increased renal vasoconstriction and gene expression of cyclooxygenase-1 in renovascular hypertension

Vascular responses to arachidonic acid (AA) in the renal circulation are increased in hypertensive rats. We have suggested that these differences are related to changes in AA metabolism. In this study we investigated the mechanism involved in the increased AA-induced renal vasoconstriction. We evaluated vascular renal reactivity in the isolated perfused kidney, cyclooxygenase activity, protein content, and mRNA expression of kidneys from sham operated and aortic coarctation rats. Bolus injection of AA (1, 2, 4, and 8 microg) increased perfusion pressure in a dose-dependent manner by 20 +/- 4, 28 +/- 5, 38 +/- 6, and 44 +/- 7 mm Hg in sham-operated rats and 30 +/- 3, 55 +/- 5, 78 +/- 5, and 113 +/- 8 mm Hg in rats with aortic coarctation. Indomethacin (1 microg/ml) or the endoperoxide/thromboxane blocker SQ29548 (1 microM) prevented AA renal vasoconstriction. Cyclooxygenase activity, cyclooxygenase-1 protein content, and mRNA expression were also increased in the renal tissue from the aortic coarctation rats compared with sham-operated rats. In conclusion, we suggest that during development of hypertension, the cyclooxygenase-1 mRNA is induced, and consequently cyclooxygenase-1 activity and AA metabolism are increased, resulting in augmented production of vasoconstrictor prostaglandins that mediate the potentiated responsiveness to AA or other vascular agonists that release AA, thus increasing peripheral vascular resistance.

Differences in responses to norepinephrine and adenosine triphosphate in isolated, perfused mesenteric vascular beds between normotensive and spontaneously hypertensive rats

The responses to norepinephrine and adenosine 5' triphosphate (ATP) of isolated, perfused mesenteric vascular beds were compared between spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) and Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats. Norepinephrine (0.01-100 nmol) dose-dependently increased perfusion pressure in the intact bed and the arteries, but not in the veins. The maximal responses in SHRs were larger than those in WKY rats. ATP (0.1-3,000 nmol) increased perfusion pressure in all preparations. The responses of the intact bed and the veins were larger in SHRs, whereas there was no strain difference in the arteries. Indomethacin (5 x 10(-6) M) enlarged the norepinephrine responses of both strains only in the intact beds and did not affect the ATP responses, except the veins in SHRs, where it was reduced. N(G)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (5 x 10(-6) M), in combination with indomethacin, potentiated the responses, except the arterial response to high doses of norepinephrine in SHRs, which was not affected. Endothelium denudation in the arteries produced similar changes to those after the combined treatment. UK14,304-induced and ADPbetaS-induced decreases in perfusion pressure at increased tone were similar between the strains. Thus neither the vasodilation induced by the stimulation of alpha2-adrenoceptors nor of P2y receptors seems to affect the response to norepinephrine or to ATP, respectively. These results demonstrate that the intact mesenteric vascular bed of SHRs shows potentiated responses not only to norepinephrine, but also to ATP, as compared with WKY rats, and that the critical regions for determining the strain differences for norepinephrine are overall arteries, and that for ATP are the vessels downstream from arterioles. In the intact beds, neither regulation by endogenous prostanoids nor that by endothelium-derived relaxing factors (EDRFs) is implicated in the strain difference. However, these two types of regulation differ markedly between different kinds of vessels.

Changes in tissue polyunsaturated fatty acids with age, in spontaneously hypertensive rats

The relationship between the biosynthesis of long-chain fatty acids and their distribution in the key organs of hypertension is of considerable interest because of their role in the production of vasoactive eicosanoids and their effects on membrane properties. The present study analyzed the fatty acid compositions of the total lipids in the kidney, aorta, heart, and hepatocytes of 1-, 3-, and 6-mon-old spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and their normotensive controls, Wistar Kyoto rats (WKY) by capillary gas chromatography . The major changes concerned the polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). The percentage of arachidonic acid (AA) was significantly greater in the 1-mon-old SHR kidney than in the WKY kidney, but it was lower at 3 and 6 mon. The percentage of eicosapentaenoic acid was very low in the SHR kidney. The results for the aorta were similar, with marked decreases in 18:2n-6 and 18:3n-3 in SHR aged 1 and 6 mon. Despite a higher proportion of 18:2n-6 and AA at 6 mon, there was no major change in the SHR heart lipids. The fatty acid spectrum in the liver provides additional evidence for the previously reported inhibition of desaturase activities in SHR. Thus, this study shows that the PUFA composition is modified differently in different tissues in SHR, and this may be related to the pathogenesis of hypertension in these animals.

Adrenoceptors in SHR: alterations in binding characteristics and intracellular signal transduction pathways

There is much data on altered adrenoceptor function in the heart, blood vessel and kidney from spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). The enhancement of vascular and renal alpha-adrenoceptor function, i.e. vasoconstriction and retention of water and sodium, may contribute to the development and maintenance of the hypertension, whereas cardiac alpha1-adrenoceptor may be of minor physiological significance. Alpha1-adrenoceptor-mediated signal transduction as a whole is increased in SHR vascular tissues, but the intracellular signaling per receptor in the kidney seems to be decreased despite increased alpha1-adrenoceptor density. On the other hand, cardiac and vascular beta-adrenoceptor responsiveness is attenuated in SHR. Reduced vasorelaxation mediated by beta-adrenoceptors may also contribute to high blood pressure. The impaired cardiovascular beta-adrenoceptor function in SHR does not appear to be necessarily explained by alterations observed at receptor levels. Alterations in signal transduction should be also considered. Limited data on renal beta-adrenoceptor density and its signaling suggest decreased or unaltered cyclic AMP formation per receptor in SHR. We will review alterations in both binding characteristics and each component of intracellular signal transduction pathways in cardiovascular and renal adrenoceptors of SHR.

Arachidonic acid and diacylglycerol release associated with inhibition of myosin light chain dephosphorylation in rabbit smooth muscle

1. Exogenous arachidonic acid (AA) inhibits the protein phosphatase that dephosphorylates smooth muscle myosin, thus sensitizing the contractile response to Ca2+; it also inhibits voltage-gated Ca2+ channels in smooth muscle. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether endogenous AA is increased by agonists in a manner consistent with its role as a messenger regulating myosin phosphatase and Ca2+ channels. Both AA and diacylglycerol (DAG) were measured in [3H]AA-labelled intact and permeabilized (with staphylococcal alpha-toxin) rabbit femoral arteries stimulated with the alpha 1-adrenergic agonist phenylephrine (PE) (intact and permeabilized smooth muscles) or by guanosine-5'-O-(3-thiotriphosphate (GTP gamma S; permeabilized smooth muscles in which the [Ca2+] was maintained constant). Arachidonic acid mass was determined with gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC-MS). 2. In intact smooth muscle, PE increased both AA and DAG levels significantly, to 210 and 145% of baseline values, respectively. Another Ca2+-sensitizing agent, the thromboxane analogue U46619, caused a similar increase in AA and DAG levels in rabbit pulmonary artery. 3. In permeabilized smooth muscle at constant [Ca2+](pCa 6.5) GTP gamma S-induced AA and DAG release preceded force development and GTP gamma S (50 microM, 10 min) increased AA mass to 61-88 microM. 4. Phorbol-12,13-dibutyrate (PDBu), another Ca2+-sensitizing agent, also increased both AA and DAG levels in permeabilized smooth muscle at pCa 6.5, whereas the inactive analogue, 4 alpha-phorbol, did not have a Ca2+-sensitizing effect, nor did it increase AA and DAG levels. 5. In the virtual absence of Ca2+ (pCa > 8) GTP gamma S also increased AA and DAG levels by 3.5- and 1.6-fold, respectively. The effect of free Ca2+ itself on AA and DAG release was modest in the physiological range (pCa 7.0 to pCa 6.0), but pCa 4.5 caused an approximately 3- to 4-fold increase in AA and DAG levels, compared with the levels at pCa 8. In permeabilized ileum smooth muscle maintained at constant [Ca2+] (pCa 6.0), carbachol also significantly increased AA to 1.75 times its original value within 1 min of its application. 6. Our results are consistent with, although do not prove, the roles of AA and DAG as second and/or co-messenger(s) in smooth muscle, while the increases in AA and DAG levels induced by PDBu raise the possibility that they contribute to some of the cellular effects of phorbol esters.

Age-related depletion of linoleic acid desaturation in liver microsomes from young spontaneously hypertensive rats

The present study was designed to investigate the microsomal interconversion of linoleic acid (LA) into arachidonic acid (AA) in young spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR), in relation to the pathogenesis of hypertension. Our results show lower delta 6 and delta 5 desaturase activities (the limiting steps in the bioconversion of LA into AA) in young SHR, as compared to Wistar Kyoto normotensive rats. This impairment of desaturase activities is raised when the blood pressure increases and is related to the age of animals. The fatty acid composition of liver lipids shows a lower proportion of AA and a higher proportion of LA in SHR than in normotensive rats, confirming the depletion of the enzymatic system studied. Such a loss of desaturase activity may be under the control of hormones involved in the regulation of SHR blood pressure.

Effect of vasoconstrictor agents on diacylglycerol content of normal and vasospastic canine basilar arteries in vitro

A causal or supportive relationship between 1,2-diacylglycerol (DAG) content and the maintenance of tonic vasoconstriction was sought in canine basilar arteries treated in vitro with various agents reported to increase DAG levels in other tissues (platelet-derived growth factor, vasopressin, angiotensin II, and endothelin-1) and, conversely, with agents known to activate sustained constriction (high K+, phorbol ester, hemolysate, and endothelin-1). Multiple segments from individual isolated arteries were prepared. Some segments were immediately frozen as controls and others incubated in physiological saline solution at 37 degrees C for either 5 minutes or 30 minutes in the presence or absence of different concentrations of the test materials. Segments were then quickly frozen until homogenized for lipid extraction and DAG assay. The DAG content of samples incubated up to 2 hours in physiological saline solution alone did not significantly differ from that of immediately frozen control samples. Resting DAG content expressed relative to total protein measured in each sample averaged 3.82 +/- 0.26 (standard error of the mean) pmol DAG/microgram of protein (74 samples from 37 arteries). Endothelin at 2 x 10(-7) mol/L led to a statistically significant increase in DAG content of approximately 40% of basal content at 5 and 30 minutes. A smaller increase in DAG attributable to hemolysate (approximately 25%) was statistically significant at 30 minutes, whereas vasopressin provoked a notable decrease in DAG content. The other agents had no effect. No differences in these results were noted between normal canine basilar arteries and arteries constricted in vivo by subarachnoid blood clot before isolation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Diacylglycerol/protein kinase C signalling: a mechanism for insulin resistance?

It is proposed that an intracellular cycle exists to limit or terminate the insulin signal. The cycle involves increased synthesis of sn-1,2-diacylglycerol (DAG) in response to insulin. The DAG activates protein kinase C (PKC) which phosphorylates glycogen synthase either directly or through other protein kinases to render it inactive. Protein kinase C may also inhibit the insulin receptor by phosphorylation of receptor serine residues. Insulin resistance could then arise as a consequence of a persistent increase in DAG levels. Such an increase could occur in three different ways. Chronic hyperinsulinaemia could increase DAG levels by de-novo synthesis from phosphatidic acid, by hydrolysis of phosphatidylcholine, or by hydrolysis of glycosyl-phosphatidylinositol; DAG is also formed by hydrolysis of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-biphosphate (PIP2). This reaction, known as the 'PI response,' may be the connection between hypertension and insulin resistance. A third mechanism for an increase in DAG involves neural abnormalities. Thus, muscle denervation in the rat is characterized both by a profound insulin resistance and a large increase in DAG. It is possible that a similar increase occurs in humans and may explain the association between denervation, inactivity, and insulin resistance.

Stimulation of phospholipase D activity and phosphatidic acid production by norepinephrine in rat aorta

We sought to relate norepinephrine (NE) stimulation of phosphatidic acid (PA) production to functional responses of rat aorta and pathways for PA production. The time course for changes in PA was closely related to Ca-dependent tonic responses in 42K efflux and contraction. NE (30 microM for 1 min) increased PA and reduced phosphatidylcholine (PC) and phosphatidylinositol (PI) based on Pi analyses and 32P labeling of phospholipids. The 32P-to-Pi ratio in PA (0.8 +/- 0.2, n = 13) was similar to PC (0.8 +/- 0.1, n = 14) but was significantly lower (P < 0.001) than PI (4.6 +/- 0.5, n = 14). The 32P-to-Pi ratio in PA was also lower (P < 0.02) than phosphatidylinositol phosphate and phosphatidylinositol bisphosphate. NE also increased [3H]PA twofold (P < 0.05) when PC was selectively labeled with [3H]myristic acid. These observations are more consistent with PA being formed from the hydrolysis of PC by phospholipase D (PLD) than by the phosphorylation of diacylglycerol produced by the action of phospholipase C. PLD was assayed by the formation of phosphatidylethanol (PEt) via a transphosphatidylation reaction with ethanol (half-maximal stimulation at 0.4-0.5% vol/vol). The time course for PLD stimulation by NE was similar to PA, with significant increases (P < 0.002) during 10 s to 30 min exposure. Once formed, PEt was degraded slowly, with a half time > 3 h. It is concluded that NE stimulates PLD in rat aorta, which forms a significant amount of PA from the hydrolysis of PC.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Calcium, phosphoinositide, and 1,2-diacylglycerol responses of blood vessels of deoxycorticosterone acetate-salt hypertensive rats to endothelin-1

In previous studies a decreased responsiveness to endothelin-1 (ET-1) of conduit arteries and resistance vessels of deoxycorticosterone acetate (DOCA)-salt hypertensive rats was found in comparison with uninephrectomized controls. Decreased isometric force, number of receptors, and inositol phosphate accumulation were reported in the DOCA-salt animals. In the present study effects of ET-1 on cytosolic free calcium, inositol phosphates, and 1,2-diacylglycerol were investigated in blood vessels of DOCA-salt hypertensive rats. Basal cytosolic free calcium, measured with the fluorescent dye fura-2, was 201 +/- 41 nmol/l in mesenteric arteries of DOCA-salt rats and 45 +/- 9 nmol/l in uninephrectomized controls (p less than 0.01). The maximal response of cytosolic free calcium (to 30 nmol/l ET-1) was 176 +/- 22% of the basal value for DOCA-salt and 242 +/- 6% for uninephrectomized rats (p less than 0.05). The concentration giving 50% of the maximum response was 9.0 and 6.5 nmol/l for DOCA-salt rats and controls, respectively. Inositol phosphate production after stimulation with 100 nmol/l ET-1 in the presence of LiCl was lower by at least 30% (p less than 0.01) in both aorta and mesenteric arteries of DOCA-salt hypertensive versus control rats. Basal levels of diacylglycerol in aorta were similar in DOCA-salt rats and in controls and did not respond to a 100 nmol/l ET-1 stimulation in the DOCA-salt rats, in contrast to the increase found in the control uninephrectomized rats (p less than 0.05).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Lipid bilayer in genetic hypertension

Membrane microviscosity, phospholipid composition, and turnover were measured in cultured vascular smooth muscle cells isolated from mesenteric arteries of stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive and age-matched, normotensive Wistar-Kyoto rats. Membrane microviscosity, measured with fluorescence polarization, revealed greater microviscosity (lower fluidity) of the membranes isolated from smooth muscle cells from hypertensive as compared with those isolated from normotensive rats (p less than 0.01). Preincubation of membranes from hypertensive rats with 5 mM calcium reduced membrane microviscosity in "core" and in "surface" regions of the bilayer toward values observed in Wistar-Kyoto rats. Phospholipid composition did not differ between intact aortas and cultured mesenteric cells or between those tissues obtained from normotensive and from hypertensive rats. The total lipid-associated radioactivity was significantly lower in cells from stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats than in those from Wistar-Kyoto controls (p less than 0.01). Phosphatidylcholine incorporated 70% and phosphatidylinositol 16% of total lipid-associated radioactivity, with no difference between cells from hypertensive and normotensive animals. Turnover of phosphatidylethanolamine was greater in cells from Wistar-Kyoto rats (p = 0.02), whereas turnover of phosphatidylserine was greater in cells from stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats (p = 0.04). The greater microviscosity of the lipid bilayer in hypertension is a generalized defect of the matrix in which the transport proteins function. We hypothesize that this defect is responsible for the multiple abnormalities of membrane transport systems that have been described in genetic hypertension.

Pathogenesis of the essential hypertensions

The pathogenesis of essential hypertension (EH) is reviewed with a special focus on the development phase or the pre-hypertensive period. Three animal models are presented: the spontaneously hypertensive rat, the Dahl's salt-sensitive rat, and the Milan hypertensive rat. Some of the findings in animal models have inspired new fields and technical approaches for studying EH in man. From the original idea of Page, a new mosaic of various etiological parameters serves as a basis for reviewing the multiple facets of EH in man. One must conclude that EH is heterogeneous disease and most likely every single hypertensive patient belongs to a subgroup of the whole population of hypertensives.

Many membrane abnormalities in hypertension result from one primary defect

Evidence has been presented that: 1.) Changes in lipid bilayer alter the function of integral membrane proteins. 2.) There is less calcium bound to the plasma membrane in hypertension. 3.) Structural and functional abnormalities of the lipid bilayer have been reported in genetic hypertension. We hypothesize that multiple abnormalities of membrane transport systems in hypertension are secondary to an inherent abnormality of the lipid bilayer in which these transport proteins reside.