Ligusticum jeholense has been used as the traditional medicine 'Go-Bon' (Chinese name, Gao-ben) in China and Korea. Considering the increased use of medicinal herbs to treat hypertension, in this study, we aimed to investigate the mechanisms of the vasorelaxation effect caused by L. jeholense. We tested the methanol (MeOH) extract of L. jeholense root and rhizoma for vasorelaxant effects; while...

We designed experiments to study the interaction of activated rat peritoneal neutrophils with aortas from spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) compared with those from normotensive rats. In aortic rings precontracted with phenylephrine, neutrophils obtained from normotensive rats caused a cell number-dependent relaxation of normotensive rat aorta with or without endothelium, whereas relaxation...

The present study determined circulating concentrations of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) and C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP) in Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and also investigated the vasorelaxing action of ANP and CNP on isolated contracted aorta. We also defined the vasorelaxing action of a novel and newly synthesized 27-amino acid chimera of ANP and CN...

Hypercholesterolemia is associated with impairment of endothelial function due to increased levels of LDL. In diabetic patients, however, attenuation of endothelial function occurs even under normocholesterolemic conditions. Here we assessed whether glycation of LDL potentiates their influence on endothelial function, with particular emphasis on the oxidizability of LDL and the role of O2-. Hum...

Ethanol has been reported to cause hypertension, the mechanism of which is unknown. Therefore, the effect of chronic ethanol consumption on vascular responsiveness and blood pressure was investigated. Systolic blood pressure was recorded weekly by tail-cuff method. Aortic rings from rats fed chow ad libitum or pair-fed liquid diets containing either ethanol (7.2% v/v) or isocaloric carbohydrate...

BACKGROUND Reactive oxygen species (ROS) induce lipid peroxidation and tissue damage in the endothelium. We tested the antioxidant effect of lidocaine and procaine on ROS-induced endothelial damage in the rabbit aorta. METHODS Aortic rings isolated from rabbits were suspended in an organ bath filled with Krebs-Henseleit (K-H) solution bubbled with 5% CO(2) and 95% O(2) at 37.5. After precontr...

We hypothesized that increased myofibrillar type 1 protein phosphatase (PP1) catalytic activity contributes to impaired aortic smooth muscle contraction after hypoxia. Our results show that inhibition of PP1 activity with microcystin-LR (50 nmol/l) or okadaic acid (100 nmol/l) increased phenylephrine- and KCl-induced contraction to a greater extent in aortic rings from rats exposed to hypoxia (...

we introduce the notion ofstrongly $alpha$-reversible rings which is a strong version of$alpha$-reversible rings, and investigate its properties. we firstgive an example to show that strongly reversible rings need not bestrongly $alpha$-reversible. we next argue about the strong$alpha$-reversibility of some kinds of extensions. a number ofproperties of this version are established. it is shown ...

Background—Hypercholesterolemia (HC) is known to elicit oxidative stress and impair endothelium-dependent vasodilation (EDV) in arterioles and large arteries. Although RANTES, a chemokine that promotes the recruitment of leukocytes, has been implicated in atherosclerosis, its role in HC has not been previously evaluated. Methods and Results—Wire myography, a cytochrome C reduction assay, and RT...

We describe the mechanisms underlying the vascular contraction induced by succinate. The data presented here are related to the article entitled "Pharmacological characterization of the mechanisms underlying the vascular effects of succinate" (L.N. Leite, N.A. Gonzaga, J.A. Simplicio, G.T. Vale, J.M. Carballido, J.C. Alves-Filho, C.R. Tirapelli, 2016) [1]. Succinate acts as a signaling molecule...