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Impaired pulmonary artery contractile responses in a rat model of microgravity: role of nitric oxideVascular contractile hyporesponsiveness is an important mechanism underlying orthostatic intolerance after microgravity. Baroreceptor reflexes can modulate both pulmonary resistance and capacitance function and thus cardiac output. We hypothesized, therefore, that pulmonary vasoreactivity is impaired in the hindlimb-unweighted (HLU) rat model of microgravity. Pulmonary artery (PA) contractile responses to phenylephrine (PE) and U-46619 (U4) were significantly decreased in the PAs from HLU vs. control (C) animals. N(G)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (10(-5) M) enhanced the contractile responses in the PA rings from both C and HLU animals and completely abolished the differential responses to PE and U4 in HLU vs. C animals. Vasorelaxant responses to ACh were significantly enhanced in PA rings from HLU rats compared with C. Moreover, vasorelaxant responses to sodium nitroprusside were also significantly enhanced. Endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) and soluble guanlyl cyclase expression were significantly enhanced in PA and lung tissue from HLU rats. In marked contrast, the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase was unchanged in lung tissue. These data support the hypothesis that vascular contractile responsiveness is attenuated in PAs from HLU rats and that this hyporesponsiveness is due at least in part to increased nitric oxide synthase activity resulting from enhanced eNOS expression. These findings may have important implications for blood volume distribution and attenuated stroke volume responses to orthostatic stress after microgravity exposure.
Document ID
20040088603
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Nyhan, Daniel
(The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Baltimore, Maryland 21287, United States)
Kim, Soonyul
Dunbar, Stacey
Li, Dechun
Shoukas, Artin
Berkowitz, Dan E.
Date Acquired
August 21, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2002
Publication Information
Publication: Journal of applied physiology (Bethesda, Md. : 1985)
Volume: 92
Issue: 1
ISSN: 8750-7587
Subject Category
Aerospace Medicine
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other
Keywords
Non-NASA Center
NASA Discipline Cardiopulmonary

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