Reports have shown the antioxidant, hypotensive, hypolipidemic and vasodilatory effects of grape (Vitis vinifera L.) seed extract. We have recently shown the relaxatory effect of grape leaf extract on rat uterus and reduction of frog heart rate and contractility. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relaxant effect of Vitis vinifera leaf hydroalcoholic extract (VLHE) on rat thora...

estrogen replacement therapy (ert) in postmenopausal women may decrease the risk of coronary artery diseases (cad). we hypothesized that nitric oxide (no) releasing due to ert may be the essential factor by which endothelial permeability decreases. four groups of ovariectomized rabbits were under investigation for five weeks. groups 1 & 4 received high cholesterol diet and other two groups (2 &...

The pulmonary artery (PA) wall, which has much higher hydraulic conductivity and albumin void space and approximately one-sixth the normal transmural pressure of systemic arteries (e.g, aorta, carotid arteries), is rarely atherosclerotic, except under pulmonary hypertension. This study constructs a detailed, two-dimensional, wall-structure-based filtration and macromolecular transport model for...

The mechanisms of norepinephrine stimulation of calcium ion entry in isolated rabbit aorta and mesenteric resistance vessels were studied through measurements of effects on calcium-45 influx, tension, and membrane potential. The resistance vessels were considerably less sensitive to norepinephrine than the aorta. The aorta exhibited complex dose-response curves for norepinephrine-stimulated cal...

abstract a cardiovascular problem is one of the common complications of diabetes. connexin is the predominant protein subunit in gap junction structure which is important in communication between cells. considering the role of connexin, this question can be created in the mind whether changes in phosphorylated connexin 43 occurs in diabetics thoracic aorta or not? 20 male wistar rats (30050g) ...

AIMS The present study is designed to investigate the role of neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) in the regulation of vascular mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) activity under basal and angiotensin II (Ang II)-stimulated conditions. METHODS AND RESULTS Incubation with a potent nNOS inhibitor (L-VNIO) significantly increased superoxide (O2(-)) levels, with increased MAPK phosphorylati...

Urotensin-II (U-II), the most potent vasoconstrictor that has recently been recognized as a new candidate in cardiovascular dysfunction, might exert vasoconstriction through, at least partially, potassium channels that are predominant in both endothelial and vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). The present study was designed to evaluate the roles of potassium channels in vascular responses to ...

Introduction: Mutations in the delta sarcoglycan gene (d-SG) cause limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type 2F with structural and functional alterations in cardiac, smooth and skeletal muscle. The objective of the present study was to improve information about changes in vascular reactivity of the thoracic aorta and the coronary artery in the perfused heart of the d-SG-null mutant mouse model. ...

PURPOSE Intravenous lipid emulsions have been used to treat the systemic toxicity of local anesthetics. The goal of this in vitro study was to examine the effects of lipid emulsions on the norepinephrine-mediated reversal of vasodilation induced by high doses of levobupivacaine, ropivacaine, and mepivacaine in isolated endothelium-denuded rat aorta, and to determine whether such effects are ass...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Shenfu injection (SFI), derived from the ancient traditional Chinese medicine (Red Radix Ginseng and Radix Aconitum Carmichaeli), has been widely used in the clinical for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases for more than 20 years. The present study aims to investigate the effects of SFI and its main components on the contraction of isolated rat thoracic aorta rings a...