O2-dependent modulation of calf pulmonary artery tone by lactate: potential role of H2O2 and cGMP.

Lactate was found to produce a relaxation of isolated endothelium-removed calf pulmonary arteries precontracted with 20-30 mM K+. Examination of the mechanism of this response indicates that it appears to be O2 dependent and mediated via guanosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cGMP), since it is reduced by hypoxia (N2 atmosphere, PO2 = 8-10 Torr) and because the relaxation was both eliminated by inhibition of soluble guanylate cyclase activation with methylene blue and enhanced by an antagonist of cGMP-selective phosphodiesterases (M & B 22948). Relaxation to lactate is not mediated via prostaglandin formation or arginine-derived nitric oxide, since indomethacin or nitro-L-arginine, respectively, did not alter the response. Lucigenin-elicited chemiluminescence, a potential detector of superoxide anion, was significantly increased by lactate only after inhibition of Cu-Zn-superoxide dismutase (via pretreatment with diethyldithiocarbamate). Pyruvate (5 mM) produced only minimal relaxation and did not significantly increase chemiluminescence. In the homogenate fraction of the arterial smooth muscle, NAD plus lactate or NADH was required to observe increased chemiluminescence. The calf pulmonary arterial smooth muscle contraction to hypoxia and relaxation to posthypoxic reoxygenation was observed to be increased by lactate, associated with a reduced level tone generation under O2 but not N2 atmosphere. Thus lactate, but not pyruvate, appears to cause a cGMP-mediated relaxation in the calf pulmonary artery through an increased intracellular H2O2 generation via the NADH-dependent production of superoxide anion, and activation of this relaxing mechanism modulates O2-elicited tone responses.

Association of pulmonary artery photorelaxation with H2O2 metabolism by catalase.

We have examined the mechanism governing guanosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cGMP)-associated photoinduced relaxation elicited by long-wavelength ultraviolet (UV) light of endothelium-removed, isolated bovine pulmonary arteries. Hypoxia, produced by gassing of the organ bath solution with 95% N2-5% CO2, inhibited photorelaxation. Photorelaxation was also inhibited by cyanide (1 mM NaCN) but was potentiated by lactate (5 mM). Irradiation of bovine pulmonary arterial smooth muscle with UV light (or exposure to exogenous H2O2) stimulated cyanide-inhibitable oxidation of methanol to formaldehyde, suggesting that UV light increased H2O2 metabolism via catalase. The UV light-induced oxidation of methanol by pulmonary arterial smooth muscle was also inhibited by hypoxia. Consumption of O2 was detected when pulmonary arterial tissue was exposed to UV light, but cyanide failed to interfere with this effect, consistent with the photochemical reduction of O2 within vascular smooth muscle in a manner independent of mitochondrial respiration. We propose that photorelaxation is associated with the intracellular photochemical reduction of O2 to form H2O2, which elicits increases of vascular smooth muscle cGMP levels via the catalase-dependent activation of soluble guanylate cyclase. In addition, we hypothesize that the photooxidation of NAD(P)H could contribute to the generation of H2O2, since the enhancement of photorelaxation by lactate may originate from increased levels of NADH.

Inhibition of coronary artery superoxide dismutase attenuates endothelium-dependent and -independent nitrovasodilator relaxation.

Isolated bovine coronary arteries were treated with 10 mM diethyldithiocarbamate (DETCA) for 30 minutes to deplete the cytosolic ZnCu form of superoxide dismutase (SOD). This treatment completely inhibited the endothelium- and cGMP-dependent relaxation to acetylcholine (mediated via the endothelium-derived relaxing factor, which is thought to be nitric oxide) without significantly inhibiting endothelium-dependent relaxation to arachidonic acid (mediated by prostaglandins). DETCA treatment of endothelial cells cultured from the coronary arteries inhibited bradykinin-elicited release of endothelium-derived relaxing factor, which was detected by bioassay on an isolated rabbit aorta in the presence of extracellular SOD. DETCA also inhibited cGMP-associated relaxations to nitric oxide and to vasodilators thought to function via the generation of this mediator (nitroglycerin and nitroprusside), but cAMP-associated relaxations to isoproterenol and papaverine were not altered. The inhibitory effects of DETCA against the relaxation to nitroprusside and nitroglycerin were attenuated by severe hypoxia. DETCA treatment of isolated coronary arterial smooth muscle or cultured endothelial cells produced an increase of chemiluminescence elicited in the presence of lucigenin, a detector of superoxide anion generation. The addition of SOD markedly attenuated the effects of DETCA treatment on arterial relaxation and chemiluminescence. Therefore, control of cellular superoxide anion levels by endogenous SOD appears needed for the release of endothelium-derived relaxing factor and relaxation of vascular smooth muscle to nitrovasodilators mediated via cGMP in the bovine coronary artery, but SOD is not critical for other endothelium-dependent or cAMP-associated relaxant mechanisms.