AJP - Heart Add DOIs to your references at manuscript stage!
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol (July 11, 2002). doi:10.1152/ajpheart.00281.2002
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
283/5/H1743    most recent
00281.2002v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Web of Science (7)
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Hai, C.-M.
Right arrow Articles by Stonestreet, B. S
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Hai, C.-M.
Right arrow Articles by Stonestreet, B. S

Articles in PresS, published online ahead of print July 11, 2002
Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol, 10.1152/ajpheart.00281.2002
Submitted on April 1, 2002
Accepted on June 28, 2002

Maternal Dexamethasone Treatment Modulates Myosin Isoform Expression and Contractile Dynamics in Fetal Carotid Arteries

Chi-Ming Hai1*, Grazyna Sadowska2, Louise Francois1, and Barbara S Stonestreet2

1 Molecular Pharmacology, Physiology & Biotechnology, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
2 Pediatrics, Women and Infants' Hospital of Rhode Island, Providence, RI, USA

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: chi-ming_hai{at}brown.edu.

We tested the hypothesis that maternal antenatal glucocorticoid treatment modulates 17 kD myosin light chain (LC17) isoform expression and the contractile time course in fetal ovine carotid arteries. In response to 1 µM phenylephrine, arteries from fetuses of dexamethasone treated ewes exhibited biphasic contractions, characterized by an intermediate relaxation phase between initial force development and steady-state force maintenance. The rate constant of the relaxation phase was significantly higher in the arteries from the fetuses of the dexamethasone than placebo treated ewes. The observed biphasic contractions suggest the appearance of functional sarcoplasmic reticulum in the arteries from the fetuses of the dexamethasone treated ewes. The myosin LC17a isoform expression was lower in the arteries from the fetuses of the placebo treated ewes than in those from the ewes. Repeated maternal administration of dexamethasone induced an almost two-fold increase in myosin LC17a isoform expression in the fetal arteries. In contrast, myosin LC17a isoform expression in maternal carotid arteries was not affected by dexamethasone treatment. These observations indicate that dexamethasone accelerates the development of myosin LC17a isoform expression in fetal arteries, but not in adult arteries. We speculate that the dexamethasone-related increases in myosin LC17a isoform expression in fetal arteries represent accelerated differentiation of a subpopulation of vascular smooth muscle cells from the fetal to the adult phenotype.




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Am. J. Physiol. Regul. Integr. Comp. Physiol.Home page
C. Hutanu, B. E. Cox, K. DeSpain, X.-T. Liu, and C. R. Rosenfeld
Vascular development in early ovine gestation: carotid smooth muscle function, phenotype, and biochemical markers
Am J Physiol Regulatory Integrative Comp Physiol, July 1, 2007; 293(1): R323 - R333.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Reproductive SciencesHome page
G. B. Sadowska, C. S. Patlak, K. H. Petersson, and B. S. Stonestreet
Effects of Multiple Courses of Antenatal Corticosteroids on Blood-Brain Barrier Permeability in the Ovine Fetus
Reproductive Sciences, May 1, 2006; 13(4): 248 - 255.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 Reproductive SciencesHome page
B. S. Stonestreet, S. Watkins, K. H. Petersson, and G. B. Sadowska
Effects of Multiple Courses of Antenatal Corticosteroids on Regional Brain and Somatic Tissue Water Content in Ovine Fetuses
Reproductive Sciences, April 1, 2004; 11(3): 166 - 174.
[Abstract] [PDF]


HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH
Visit Other APS Journals Online
Copyright © 1976 by the American Physiological Society.