Alterations to the nitric oxide pathway in the spontaneously hypertensive rat

OBJECTIVES: To examine the role of nitric oxide in the cardiovascular system in spontaneous hypertension. In particular, we wanted to know whether the production of nitric oxide in the cardiovascular system of the spontaneously hypertensive rat is different from that of the normotensive Wistar-Kyoto rat and whether nitric oxide is biologically effective in this system. DESIGN: We studied various aspects of the L-arginine-nitric oxide pathway in the cardiovascular system of spontaneously hypertensive rats and Wistar-Kyoto rats. METHODS: To address the first objective we analysed the expression of endothelial nitric oxide synthase in the heart by Western blotting and the activity of constitutive nitric oxide synthase in resistance microvessels obtained from the mesenterium, both from spontaneously hypertensive rats and Wistar-Kyoto rats aged 14-18 weeks. We also analysed the concentration of the oxidative product of nitric oxide, nitrate, in plasma from these rats. To address the second objective, that is, to assess the bioactivity of nitric oxide, we studied the accumulation in tissue of cyclic guanosine 3',5'-monophosphate (GMP), as well as the acute and chronic effects of withdrawing the nitric oxide vasodilatory tone with the inhibitor of nitric oxide synthesis NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester on Wistar-Kyoto rats and spontaneously hypertensive rats. RESULTS: We found that the expression of endothelial nitric oxide synthase in the heart, the activity of constitutive nitric oxide synthase in resistance microvessels and the concentration of nitrate in plasma were all significantly higher in the spontaneously hypertensive rats. In contrast, neither cyclic GMP levels nor the effects of NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester were greater in the spontaneously hypertensive rat than they were in the Wistar-Kyoto rat. CONCLUSIONS: The nitric oxide pathway is upregulated in the resistance circulation and the heart of the spontaneously hypertensive rat by a mechanism involving induction of the constitutive nitric oxide synthase and overproduction of nitric oxide. However, nitric oxide is not sufficiently bioactive to stimulate the formation of cyclic GMP and to maintain an adequate nitric oxide-dependent vasodilatory tone.