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Effect Of Chronic Lithium Administration On Endothelium‐Dependent Relaxation In Rat Aorta
Author(s) -
Dehpour Ahmad Reza,
Aghadadashi Hamid,
Ghafourifar Pedram,
Roushanzamir Farshad,
Ghahremani Mohammad Hossein,
Meysamee Farnoush,
Rassaee Nastaran,
Koucharian Armen
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
clinical and experimental pharmacology and physiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.752
H-Index - 103
eISSN - 1440-1681
pISSN - 0305-1870
DOI - 10.1046/j.1440-1681.2000.03205.x
Subject(s) - sodium nitroprusside , phenylephrine , acetylcholine , chemistry , lithium (medication) , nitroarginine , endocrinology , nitric oxide , medicine , contraction (grammar) , vasodilation , endothelium derived relaxing factor , nitric oxide synthase , pharmacology , blood pressure
SUMMARY 1. The effects of chronic lithium administration on the relaxant responses of rat thoracic aortic rings in the presence of indomethacin (a cyclo‐oxygenase inhibitor) and/or N G ‐nitro‐ L ‐arginine ( L ‐NOARG; a nitric oxide synthase inhibitor) to acetylcholine (ACh) or sodium nitroprusside were investigated in the present study. 2. Acetylcholine produced a concentration‐dependent relaxation in vessels precontracted by phenylephrine (PE), while in lithium‐treated rats the maximal relaxation was significantly increased. 3. Indomethacin (20 μ mol/L) significantly potentiated the ACh‐induced relaxation in lithium‐treated and control rats. 4. N G ‐Nitro‐ L ‐arginine (1 μmol/L) decreased the ACh‐induced relaxation in both control and lithium‐treated rats. In contrast, indomethacin (20 μ mol/L) reversed the inhibitory effect of L ‐NOARG. 5. Sodium nitroprusside produced similar concentration‐dependent relaxations of vessels from both control and lithium‐treated rats, which was not affected by indomethacin. In endothelium‐denuded rings, indomethacin (20 μmol/L) caused a rightward shift in the concentration–contraction curve to PE. 6. These data support evidence for a possible increase in endothelium‐dependent relaxation induced by ACh during long‐term administration of lithium in rat aortic rings.