AJP - Heart and Circulatory Physiology, Vol 269, Issue 6 1941-H1948, Copyright © 1995 by American Physiological Society

ARTICLES

Effect of L-NAME on pressure-flow relationships in isolated rabbit lungs: role of red blood cells

R. S. Sprague, A. H. Stephenson, R. A. Dimmitt, N. L. Weintraub, C. A. Branch, L. McMurdo, A. J. Lonigro and N. A. Weintraub
Department of Medicine, Saint Louis University School of Medicine, Missouri 63104, USA.

Nitric oxide (NO) is produced by and relaxes pulmonary arteries and veins; however, a role for NO as a participant in the control of pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) remains to be defined. Here we investigated the hypothesis that for NO to serve as a determinant of PVR in the rabbit requires the presence of blood. In isolated blood-perfused rabbit lungs, NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME, 100 microM) increased PVR and the slope of the pressure-flow relationship. These effects of L-NAME were prevented by pretreatment with L-arginine. In contrast, in lungs perfused with a physiological salt solution, L-NAME had no effect on PVR or the pressure-flow relationship. The addition of washed red blood cells (RBCs) to physiological salt solution, but not the addition of plasma and platelets, restored the response to L-NAME. This effect of RBCs was not reproduced by increasing perfusate viscosity with dextran. These results suggest that, in the rabbit lung, NO is a determinant of PVR in the presence of blood. Moreover, that aspect of blood that permits the generation of NO appears to be related to the RBC and not to perfusate viscosity.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				B. A. Klarl, P. A. Lang, D. S. Kempe, O. M. Niemoeller, A. Akel, M. Sobiesiak, K. Eisele, M. Podolski, S. M. Huber, T. Wieder, et al. Protein kinase C mediates erythrocyte "programmed cell death" following glucose depletion Am J Physiol Cell Physiol, January 1, 2006; 290(1): C244 - C253. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				F. Spohr, A. J. M. Cornelissen, C. Busch, M. M. Gebhard, J. Motsch, E. O. Martin, and J. Weimann Role of endogenous nitric oxide in endotoxin-induced alteration of hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction in mice Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol, August 1, 2005; 289(2): H823 - H831. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				G. Liang, A. H. Stephenson, A. J. Lonigro, and R. S. Sprague Erythrocytes of humans with cystic fibrosis fail to stimulate nitric oxide synthesis in isolated rabbit lungs Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol, April 1, 2005; 288(4): H1580 - H1585. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. S. Sprague, J. J. Olearczyk, D. M. Spence, A. H. Stephenson, R. W. Sprung, and A. J. Lonigro Extracellular ATP signaling in the rabbit lung: erythrocytes as determinants of vascular resistance Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol, July 11, 2003; 285(2): H693 - H700. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. B. Gordon, M. A. VanderHeyden, T. R. Halla, E. P. Cortez, G. Hernandez, S. T. Haworth, C. A. Dawson, and J. A. Madden What leads to different mediators of alkalosis-induced vasodilation in isolated and in situ pulmonary vessels? Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol, May 1, 2003; 284(5): L799 - L807. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. A. Andrews, L. Yang, and P. S. Low Phorbol ester stimulates a protein kinase C-mediated agatoxin-TK-sensitive calcium permeability pathway in human red blood cells Blood, October 16, 2002; 100(9): 3392 - 3399. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				G. G. Konduri and J. Mattei Role of oxidative phosphorylation and ATP release in mediating birth-related pulmonary vasodilation in fetal lambs Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol, October 1, 2002; 283(4): H1600 - H1608. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. S. Sprague, M. L. Ellsworth, A. H. Stephenson, and A. J. Lonigro Participation of cAMP in a signal-transduction pathway relating erythrocyte deformation to ATP release Am J Physiol Cell Physiol, October 1, 2001; 281(4): C1158 - C1164. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. T. Berg, S. Deem, M. E. Kerr, and E. R. Swenson Hemoglobin and red blood cells alter the response of expired nitric oxide to mechanical forces Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol, December 1, 2000; 279(6): H2947 - H2953. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. L. Mundy and K. L. Dorrington Inhibition of nitric oxide synthesis augments pulmonary oedema in isolated perfused rabbit lung Br. J. Anaesth., October 1, 2000; 85(4): 570 - 576. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. Deem, J. T. Berg, M. E. Kerr, and E. R. Swenson Effects of the RBC membrane and increased perfusate viscosity on hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction J Appl Physiol, May 1, 2000; 88(5): 1520 - 1528. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. S. Sprague, M. L. Ellsworth, A. H. Stephenson, M. E. Kleinhenz, and A. J. Lonigro Deformation-induced ATP release from red blood cells requires CFTR activity Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol, November 1, 1998; 275(5): H1726 - H1732. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. DEFOUILLOY, E. TEIGER, S. SEDIAME, P. ANDRIVET, F. ROUDOT-THORAVAL, C. CHOUAID, B. HOUSSET, and S. ADNOT Polycythemia Impairs Vasodilator Response to Acetylcholine in Patients with Chronic Hypoxemic Lung Disease Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med., May 1, 1997; 157(5): 1452 - 1460. [Abstract] [Full Text]

				T. S. Hakim, L. Ferrario, J. C. Freedman, R. E. Carlin, and E. M. Camporesi Segmental pulmonary vascular responses to ATP in rat lungs: role of nitric oxide J Appl Physiol, March 1, 1997; 82(3): 852 - 858. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]