• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.641-647
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• 2016

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a progressive disease characterized by vascular remodeling of pulmonary arteries (PAs) and increased vascular resistance in the lung. Monocrotaline (MCT), a toxic alkaloid, is widely used for developing rat models of PAH caused by injury to pulmonary endothelial cells; however, characteristics of vascular functions in MCT-induced PAH vary and are not fully understood. Here, we investigated hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction (HPV) responses and effects of various vasoconstrictors with isolated/perfused lungs of MCT-induced PAH (PAH-MCT) rats. Using hematoxylin and eosin staining, we confirmed vascular remodeling (i.e., medial thickening of PA) and right ventricle hypertrophy in PAH-MCT rats. The basal pulmonary arterial pressure (PAP) and PAP increase by a raised flow rate (40 mL/min) were higher in the PAH-MCT than in the control rats. In addition, both high $K^+$ (40 mM KCl)- and angiotensin II-induced PAP increases were higher in the PAH-MCT than in the control rats. Surprisingly, application of a nitric oxide synthase inhibitor, L-$N^G$-Nitroarginine methyl ester (L-NAME), induced a marked PAP increase in the PAH-MCT rats, suggesting that endothelial functions were recovered in the three-week PAH-MCT rats. In addition, the medial thickening of the PA was similar to that in chronic hypoxia-induced PAH (PAH-CH) rats. However, the HPV response (i.e., PAP increased by acute hypoxia) was not affected in the MCT rats, whereas HPV disappeared in the PAH-CH rats. These results showed that vascular contractility and HPV remain robust in the MCT-induced PAH rat model with vascular remodeling.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.115-126
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• 1995

The effects of energy-yielding substrates on coronary circulation, myocardial oxygen metabolism, and intramyocytic adenylates of perfused Wistar control rat(WC) and spontaneously hypertensive rat(SHR) hearts were examined under basal and $\beta$-adrenergic stimulation conditions. The perfusion medium (1.0mM Ca2+) contained 5mM glucose (+5U/l insulin) in combination with 5mM pyruvate, 5mM lacate, 5mM acetate, or 5mM octanoate as energy substrates. Hearts were perfused with each substrate buffer for 20min under basal conditions. Coronary functinal hyperemia was induced by infusing for 20min isoproterenol (ISO, 1uM), a $\beta$-receptor agonist. Cardiac adenylates, glycolytic intermediates, and coronary venous lactate were measured by using an enzymatic analysis technique. Under basal conditions, acetate and octanoate significantly increased coronary flow(CF) of WC in parallel with myocardial oxygen consumption. However, CF of SHR was partly attenuated by coronary vasoconstriction despite metabolic acidosis. In addition, pyruvate and lactate depressd ISO-induced coronary functional hyperemia in SHR. It should be noted that octanoate exhibited coronary dysfunction under ISO conditions. On the other hand, fat substrates depleted myocardial high energy phosphate pool and accumulated breakdown intermediates. In SHR with coronary vasoconstriction under basal conditions, and with depressed coronary functional hyperemia, high energy phosphates were greatly depleted. These results suggest that energy substrates in the myocardium and coronary smooth muscle alter remarkably coronary circulation, and that coronary circulatory function is associated with a reserve of high energy phosphates and a balance between breakdown and nono synthesis of energy phosphates. These findings could be explained by alterations in the cytosolic redox state manipulated by LDH and hence in the cytosolic phosphorylation potential, which might be involved in hypertension of SHR.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.22 no.7
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• pp.826-832
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• 1998

In order to understand the influences of wearing clothings with different thermal insula-tions when men were exposed from $25^{\circ}C$ environment to 18$^{\circ}C$ environment, thermoregulatory responses were measured on 4 healthy female college students. Subjects rested wearing T-shirts, trousers, and socks called LC(total weight 541g) at 25$\pm$1$^{\circ}C$, 50$\pm$5% R.H. and then exposed to the room conditioned in 18$\pm$1$^{\circ}C$, 50$\pm$5$^{\circ}C$ R.H. with LC as it was(LC Type) or with T-shirts, trousers, socks, training wear upper garment, the training wear lower garment called HC (total weight 1368g)(HC Type) for 120 min. The results can be summarized as follows: 1) When subjects were exposed from $25^{\circ}C$ environment to 18$^{\circ}C$ environment, decrease of rectal temperature was significantly smaller in LC Type than in HC Type. 2)Increase of heat production and weight loss had no significant difference between two types of clothing. 3)Internal thermal conductance was higher in HC Type and external thermal conductance was higher in LC Type. Therefore total thermal conductance was higher in LC Type than in HC Type. 4)Decrease of skin temperature was greater in LC Type than in HC Type. 5)Subjects felt colder with LC Type than with HC Type, but did not feel differently in comfort sensation between two types of clothing. It was suggested that less decrease of rectal temperature in LC type inspite of more dry heat loss from body might be ascribed to a shift of blood from the shell area to the core area originating in the vasoconstriction and the lowered internal thermal conductance. In conclu-sion, the importance of the state of internal heat distribution in the homeostasis seemed to be reaffirmed.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.46-56
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• 1996

Many surgeons and anesthesiologists prefer using vasoconstrictor mixed with local anesthetic agent to reduce the incidence of side effects and prolong the duration of analgesia because most local anesthetic agents, except cocaine, were believed to possess vasodilating effect. However, some investigators recently reported vasoconstricting effect of local anesthetic agents. There is still controversy on the vasoactive effect of local anesthetic agents. So this study is aimed to clarify the vasoactive effect of local anesthetics in the animal model resembling clinical settings. Rabbits were anesthesized with ketamine and haloghane, and respirations were controlled with Harvard animal ventilator. Lidocaine (0.5%, 1.0%, 1.5%) and bupivacaine (0.125%, 0.25% and 0.5%) with or without 1:100,000 epinephrine were subdermaly injected on the femoral bupivacaine of the femoral artery were measured with Doppler flow meter in vivo. The mean arterial pressure, pulse rate, arterial blood gases, pH and level of serum electrolytes were measured at every 2 minute interval for 30 minutes. Results were as follows: 1) There was no significant vasoconstriction with 0.5% lidocaine and 0.125% bupivacaine. 2) Statistically significant (p<0.05) vasodilations were observed with lidocaine (1.0~2.0%) and bupivacaine (0.25~0.5%). 3) There were no changes on the duration of vasodilation induced by local anesthetic agents of various concentrations. 4) Onset of vasodilation induced by local anesthetic agents of high concentration were faster than that of lower concentrations. 5) In the mixed injection group of epinephrine and local anesthetic agent, the vasoconstriction induced by epinephrine was completely reversed by local anesthetics, approximately 5 minutes later. In conclusion, local anesthetic agents at dose exceeding 1.0% lidocaine and 0.25% bupivacaine increase local blood flow significantly in animal study in vivo which is applicable in human clinical settings. The increase blood flow may be due to dilatation of blood vessel. Further study on the analysis of association between amount of absorbed local anesthetics in blood vessels and dilatation of blood vessels is needed.

• The Korean Journal of Emergency Medical Services
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.165-173
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• 2019

Purpose: Norepinephrine (NE) is a neurotransmitter of the sympathetic nervous system. It is used for treating hypotension on distributive shock, central nervous system injury, or sepsis. There are several reports that state that alcohol suppresses vasoconstriction by NE. Thus, our hypothesis is that the effect of NE is reduced in alcohol-drinking patients with distributive shock. We investigated whether alcohol suppresses NE-induced contraction and aimed at finding a solution to this problem. Methods: For this study, we used the aorta from male Sprague-Dawley rats (9-11 weeks) and an isometric contraction system. Results: Our results showed that alcohol suppresses NE contraction and does not affect epinephrine induced a contraction. Moreover, in the presence of alcohol, a 7:3 mixture of NE and epinephrine induced a contractile force similar to that induced by NE under normal conditions. Conclusion: We found that the vasoconstrictive force of NE decreased in the blood vessels in which alcohol was present, which was not because endothelial cells. The reduced contractile force was most similar to that induced by a 7:3 mixture of NE and epinephrine.

• Experimental and Molecular Medicine
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• v.50 no.12
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• pp.11.1-11.9
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• 2018

Estrogen has diverse effects on cardiovascular function, including regulation of the contractile response to vasoactive substances such as serotonin. The serotonin system recently emerged as an important player in the regulation of vascular tone in humans. However, hyperreactivity to serotonin appears to be a critical factor for the pathophysiology of hypertension. In this study, we examined the modulatory mechanisms of estrogen in serotonin-induced vasoconstriction by using a combinatory approach of isometric tension measurements, molecular biology, and patch-clamp techniques. $17{\beta}$-Estradiol (E2) elicited a significant and concentration-dependent relaxation of serotonin-induced contraction in deendothelialized aortic strips isolated from male rats. E2 triggered a relaxation of serotonin-induced contraction even in the presence of tamoxifen, an estrogen receptor antagonist, suggesting that E2-induced changes are not mediated by estrogen receptor. Patch-clamp studies in rat arterial myocytes showed that E2 prevented Kv channel inhibition induced by serotonin. Serotonin increased Src activation in arterial smooth muscle required for contraction, which was significantly inhibited by E2. The estrogen receptor-independent inhibition of Src by E2 was confirmed in HEK293T cells that do not express estrogen receptor. Taken together, these results suggest that estrogen exerts vasodilatory effects on serotonin-precontracted arteries via Src, implying a critical role for estrogen in the prevention of vascular hyperreactivity to serotonin.

• Journal of Convergence for Information Technology
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.119-125
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• 2022

In the study, we endeavored to investigate the effect of phenylephrine, isoprenaline and prazosin on the tissue-specific vascular contractility and to determine the mechanism involved. There were few reports addressing the question whether thin or thick filament modulation is included in phenylephrine, isoprenaline and prazosin-induced regulation. We hypothesized that isoprenaline and prazosin play a role in tissue-dependent regulation of vascular contractility. Denuded arterial muscles of Sprague-Dawley male rats were suspended in organ baths and isometric tensions were transduced and recorded using isometric transducers and an automatic data acquisition system. Interestingly, sustained continuous contraction of thoracic and abdominal aorta. Furthermore, isoprenaline and prazosin together with phenylephrine inhibited transiently and persistently vasoconstriction of thoracic and abdominal aorta suggesting that additional mechanisms (e.g. decreased receptor density, chemical interaction, postreceptor signaling or distribution of agonists) might be included in the modulation of vascular contractility.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.231-238
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• 1994

Backgroud: Since the demonstration of the fact that vascular relaxation by acetylcholine(Ach) results from the release of relaxing factor from the endothelium, the identity and physiology of this endothelium-derived relaxing factor(EDRF) has been the target for many researches. EDRF has been identified as nitric oxide(NO). With the recent evidences that EDRF is an important mediator of vascular tone, there have been increasing interests in defining the role of the EDRF as a potential mediator of hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction. But the role of EDRF in modulating the pulmonary circulation is not compeletely clarified. To investigate the endothelium-dependent pulmonary vasodilation and the role of EDRF during hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction, we studied the effects of $N^G$-monomethyl-L-arginine(L-NMMA) and L-arginine on the precontracted pulmonary arterial rings of the rat in normoxia and hypoxia. Mothods: The pulmonary arteries of male Sprague Dawley(300~350g) were dissected free of surrounding tissue, and cut into rings. Rings were mounted over fine rigid wires, in organ chambers filled with 20ml of Krebs solution bubbled with 95 percent oxygen and 5 percent carbon dioxide and maintained at $37^{\circ}C$. Changes in isometric tension were recorded with a force transducer(FT.03 Grass, Quincy, USA) Results: 1) Precontraction of rat pulmonry artery with intact endothelium by phenylephrine(PE, $10^{-6}M$) was relaxed completely by acetylcholine(Ach, $10^{-9}-10^{-5}M$) and sodium nitroprusside(SN, $10^{-9}-10^{-5}M$), but relaxing response by Ach in rat pulmonary artery with denuded endothelium was significantly decreased. 2) L-NMMA($10^{-4}M$) pretreatment inhibited Ach($10^{-9}-10^{-5}M$)-induced relaxation, but L-NMMA ($10^{-4}M$) had no effect on relaxation induced by SN($10^{-9}-10^{-5}M$). 3) Pretreatment of the L-arginine($10^{-4}M$) significantly reversed the inhibition of the Ach ($10^{-9}-10^{-5}M$)-induced relaxation caused by L-NMMA($10^{-4}M$) 4) Pulmonary arterial contraction by PE($10^{-6}M$) was stronger in hypoxia than normoxia but relaxing response by Ach($10^{-9}-10^{-5}M$) was decreased, 5) With pretreatment of L-arginine($10^{-4}M$), pulmonary arterial relaxation by Ach($10^{-9}-10^{-5}M$) in hypoxia was reversed to the level of relaxation in normoxia. Conclusion: It is concluded that rat pulmonary arterial relaxation by Ach is dependent on the intact endothelium and is largely mediated by NO. Acute hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction is related to the suppression on NO formation in the vascular endothelium.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.58 no.4
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• pp.223-228
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• 2014

The present study was undertaken to investigate the influence of sulforaphane on vascular smooth muscle contractility and to determine the mechanism involved. We hypothesized that sulforaphane, the primary ingredient of broccoli of cruciferous vegetables, plays a role in vascular relaxation through inhibition of Rho-kinase in rat aortae. Intact of denuded arterial rings from male Sprague-Dawley rats were used and isometric tensions were recorded using a computerized data acquisition system. Interestingly, sulforaphane significantly inhibited fluoride, phorbol ester or thromboxane $A_2$ mimetic-induced contraction in denuded muscles suggesting that additional pathways different from endothelial nitric oxide synthesis such as inhibition of Rho-kinase or MEK might be involved in the vasorelaxation. Furthermore, sulforaphane inhibited thromboxane $A_2$-induced increases in pERK1/2 levels suggesting the mechanism including inhibition of thromboxane $A_2$-induced increases in ERK1/2 phosphorylation. This study provides evidence that sulforaphane induces vascular relaxation through inhibition of Rho-kinase or MEK in rat aortae.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.57 no.5
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• pp.376-381
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• 2013

The present study was undertaken to investigate the influence of curcumin on vascular smooth muscle contractility and to determine the mechanism involved. We hypothesized that curcumin, the primary ingredient of Curcuma longa, plays a role in vascular relaxation through inhibition of Rho-kinase in rat aortae. Denuded arterial rings from male Sprague-Dawley rats were used and isometric tensions were recorded using a computerized data acquisition system. Interestingly, curcumin inhibited fluoride-induced contraction but didn't inhibit phorbol ester-induced contraction suggesting that additional pathways different from endothelial nitric oxide synthesis might be involved in the vasorelaxation. Furthermore, curcumin significantly inhibited fluoride-induced increases in pMYPT1 levels. On the other hand, it didn't significantly inhibit phorbol ester-induced increases in pERK1/2 levels suggesting the mechanism involving inhibition of fluoride-induced MYPT1 phosphorylation. This study provides evidence that curcumin induces vascular relaxation through inhibition of Rho-kinase in rat aortae.