Open AccessIncreased Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule–1 Was Associated with Impaired Endothelium–Dependent Relaxation of Cerebral and Carotid Arteries in Simulated Microgravity Rats
Author(s) -
Ran Zhang,
Guanghong Jia,
JunXiang Bao,
Yuyang Zhang,
YunGang Bai,
Lejian Lin,
Hao Tang,
Jing Ma
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
journal of physiological sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.968
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1880-6562
pISSN - 1880-6546
DOI - 10.2170/physiolsci.rp010707
Subject(s) - cerebral arteries , basilar artery , downregulation and upregulation , endothelium , medicine , vasodilation , artery , immunohistochemistry , vcam 1 , carotid arteries , endocrinology , cell adhesion molecule , anatomy , chemistry , icam 1 , immunology , biochemistry , gene
The aim of the present study was to investigate whether an expression of vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) was upregulated in 3-week simulated microgravity rat cerebral and carotid arteries and whether impaired endothelium-dependent relaxation was concomitant with VCAM-1 expression. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into control (CON) and hindlimb unweighting (HU) groups. After 3 weeks, the expression of the VCAM-1 protein and the vasodilatation of the basilar artery and common carotid artery were determined. Immunohistochemical results revealed positive staining of VCAM-1 on endothelial cells in these arteries from HU compared with CON rats. Western blot analysis confirmed an upregulated expression of VCAM-1 protein in these arteries from HU rats. Acetylcholine induced concentration-dependent vasodilatation in all artery rings, but with significantly smaller amplitude in the basilar artery (P < 0.01) and the common carotid artery (P < 0.05) from HU than those from CON rats. The data suggested that the expression of VCAM-1 protein was upregulated in cerebral and common carotid arteries of simulated microgravity rats, and the upregulation of VCAM-1 may contribute to impaired endothelium-dependent relaxation in simulated microgravity rat vasculature.