First Author | Wang Y | Year | 2021 |
Journal | Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol | Volume | 320 |
Issue | 1 | Pages | H221-H237 |
PubMed ID | 33124883 | Mgi Jnum | J:304558 |
Mgi Id | MGI:6513733 | Doi | 10.1152/ajpheart.00487.2020 |
Citation | Wang Y, et al. (2021) NO-induced vasodilation correlates directly with BP in smooth muscle-Na/Ca exchanger-1-engineered mice: elevated BP does not attenuate endothelial function. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 320(1):H221-H237 |
abstractText | Arterial smooth muscle Na(+)/Ca(2+) exchanger-1 (SM-NCX1) promotes vasoconstriction or vasodilation by mediating, respectively, Ca(2+) influx or efflux. In vivo, SM-NCX1 mediates net Ca(2+) influx to help maintain myogenic tone (MT) and neuronally activated constriction. SM-NCX1-TG (overexpressing transgenic) mice have increased MT and mean blood pressure (MBP; +13.5 mmHg); SM-NCX1-KO (knockout) mice have reduced MT and MBP (-11.1 mmHg). Endothelium-dependent vasodilation (EDV) is often impaired in hypertension. We tested whether genetically engineered SM-NCX1 expression and consequent BP changes similarly alter EDV. Isolated, pressurized mesenteric resistance arteries with MT from SM-NCX1-TG and conditional SM-NCX1-KO mice, and femoral arteries in vivo from TG mice were studied. Acetylcholine (ACh)-dilated TG arteries with MT slightly more than control or KO arteries, implying that SM-NCX1 overexpression does not impair EDV. In preconstricted KO, but not TG mouse arteries, however, ACh- and bradykinin-triggered vasodilation was markedly attenuated. To circumvent the endothelium, phenylephrine-constricted resistance arteries were tested with Na-nitroprusside [SNP; nitric oxide (NO) donor] and cGMP. This endothelium-independent vasodilation was augmented in TG but attenuated in KO arteries that lack NCX1-mediated Ca(2+) clearance. Baseline cytosolic Ca(2+) ([Ca(2+)]cyt) was elevated in TG femoral arteries in vivo, supporting the high BP; furthermore, SNP-triggered [Ca(2+)]cyt decline and vasodilation were augmented as NO and cGMP promote myocyte polarization thereby enhancing NCX1-mediated Ca(2+) efflux. The TG mouse data indicate that BP elevation does not attenuate endothelium-dependent vasodilation. Thus, in essential hypertension and many models the endothelial impairment that supports the hypertension apparently is not triggered by BP elevation but by extravascular mechanisms.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Endothelium-dependent, ACh-induced vasodilation (EDV) is attenuated, and arterial myocyte Na(+)/Ca(2+) exchangers (NCX1) are upregulated in many forms of hypertension. Surprisingly, mildly hypertensive smooth muscle-specific (SM)-NCX1 transgenic mice exhibited modestly enhanced EDV and augmented endothelium-independent vasodilation (EIV). Conversely, mildly hypotensive SM-NCX1-knockout mice had greatly attenuated EIV. These adaptations help compensate for NCX1 expression-induced alterations in cytosolic Ca(2+) and blood pressure (BP) and belie the view that elevated BP, itself, causes the endothelial dysregulation in hypertension. |