Sheng li xue bao : [Acta physiologica Sinica]
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The aim of the present study was to investigate whether protein kinase C (PKC) was involved in the effect of mesenteric lymph duct ligation or mesenteric lymph drainage on vascular calcium sensitivity in hemorrhagic shock rats. Male Wistar rats were randomly divided into Sham, Shock (hemorrhagic shock), Shock+Ligation (mesenteric lymph duct ligation plus shock) and Shock+Drainage (mesenteric lymph drainage plus shock) groups. After being in shock (hypotension 40 mmHg) for 3 h, the tissue of superior mesenteric artery (SMA) was taken out for detecting the PKC expression and phospho-PKC (p-PKC) activity, and the vascular rings of SMA were prepared and used to measure the response to gradient calcium concentration for assaying the calcium sensitivity, the parameters of which including tension, maximum tension (E(max)) and negative logarithm of EC(50), called the pD(2). ⋯ PKC agonist PMA enhanced the contractile activity of vascular rings to gradient calcium ions, and increased E(max) of SMA in Shock+Ligation and Shock+Drainage groups. On the contrary, PKC inhibitor Staurosporine significantly decreased the response to gradient calcium ions and E(max) of SMA in Shock+Ligation and Shock+Drainage groups. These results suggest that PKC plays a role in the improvement of vascular calcium sensitivity by blockade of mesenteric lymph return in hemorrhagic shock rats.
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[Effects of etomidate on descending activation of motoneurons in neonatal rat spinal cord in vitro].
Descending activation pathways in spinal cord are essential for inducing and modulating autokinesis, but whether the effects of general anesthetic agents on the descending pathways are involved in initiation of skeletal muscle relaxation or not, as well as the underlying mechanisms on excitatory amino acid receptors still remain unclear. In order to explore the mechanisms underlying etomidate's effects on descending activation of spinal cord motoneurons (MNs), the conventional intracellular recording techniques in MNs of spinal cord slices isolated from neonatal rats (7-14 days old) were performed to observe and analyze the actions of etomidate on excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP) elicited by electrical stimulation of the ipsilateral ventrolateral funiculus (VLF), which was named VLF-EPSP. Etomidate at 0.3, 3.0 (correspond to clinical concentration) and 30.0 µmol/L were in turn perfused to MN with steadily recorded VLF-EPSPs. ⋯ However, at 3.0 and 30.0 µmol/L, it was only observed that etomidate exerted inhibitory effects on amplitude and/or duration and/or area under curve of VLF-EPSP (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01) with concentration- and time-dependent properties. Moreover, NMDA receptor-mediated VLF-EPSP component was more sensitive to etomidate at ≥ 3.0 µmol/L than non-NMDA receptor-mediated VLF-EPSP component did. As a conclusion, etomidate, at different concentrations, exerts differential effects on VLF-EPSP and glutamate receptors mediating the synaptic transmission of descending activation of MNs in neonatal rat spinal cord in vitro.
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ATP-sensitive potassium (K(ATP)) channels are widely distributed in vasculatures, and play an important role in the vascular tone regulation. The K(ATP) channels consist of 4 pore-forming inward rectifier K(+) channel (Kir) subunits and 4 regulatory sulfonylurea receptors (SUR). The major vascular isoform of K(ATP) channels is composed of Kir6.1/SUR2B, although low levels of other subunits are also present in vascular beds. ⋯ Furthermore, the channel activity is augmented in endotoxemia or septic shock, as a result of the upregulation of Kir6.1/SUR2B expression. Activation of the nuclear factor-κB dependent transcriptional mechanism contributes to the Kir6.1/SUR2B channel upregulation by lipopolysaccharides and perhaps other toll-like receptor ligands as well. In this review, we summarize the vascular K(ATP) channel regulation under physiological and pathophysiological conditions, and discuss the importance of K(ATP) channel as a potentially useful target in the treatment and prevention of cardiovascular diseases.
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[Mg(2+) inhibits ATP-activated current mediated by rat P2X4 receptors expressed in Xenopus oocytes].
To investigate the modulation of Mg(2+) on rat P2X4 receptors and its underlying mechanism, we transcribed cDNA coding for wild-type and mutant P2X4 receptors to cRNA in vitro, injected the cRNA to oocytes of Xenopus laevis using the microinjection technique and revealed the effect of Mg(2+) on ATP-activated currents (I(ATP)) mediated by P2X4 receptors using the two-electrode whole-cell voltage clamp technique. The effects of extracellular Mg(2+) on I(ATP) were as follows: (1) In oocytes expressing P2X4 receptors, Mg(2+) with concentration ranging from 0.5-10 mmol/L inhibited the amplitude of I(ATP) in a concentration-dependent and reversible manner, with a 50% inhibitory concentration value (IC(50)) of (1.24 ± 0.07) mmol/L for current activated by 100 μmol/L ATP. (2) Mg(2+) (1 mmol/L) shifted the dose-response curve for I(ATP) right-downward without changing the EC(50), but reduced the maximal current (E(max)) by (42.0 ± 2.1)%. (3) After being preincubated with Mg(2+) for 80 s, the inhibitory effect of the Mg(2+) on I(ATP) reached the maximum. (4) The inhibition of Mg(2+) on I(ATP) was independent of membrane potential from -120 mV to +60 mV. (5) Compared with the current activated by 100 μmol/L ATP in the wild-type P2X4 receptors, mutant P2X4 D280Q responded to the application of 100 μmol/L ATP with a smaller current. ⋯ The results suggest that Mg(2+) inhibits I(ATP) mediated by P2X4 receptors non-competitively, reversibly, concentration-dependently, time-dependently and voltage-independently. The inhibitory effect of Mg(2+) might be realized by acting on the site Asp280 of the P2X4 receptors.
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Autotaxin (ATX), a member of nucleotide pyrophosphatase/phosphodiesterase (NPP) family, is also named as phosphodiesterase Iα (PD-Iα) or NPP2. ATX is the unique member among the NPPs that can function as a lysophospholipase D (lysoPLD), converting lysophosphatidylcholine into lysophosphatidic acid (LPA). ⋯ ATX and LPA together form the ATX-LPA functional axis. The present review summarizes the current progress in function and biological activities of ATX-LPA axis.