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AJP - Heart and Circulatory Physiology, Vol 256, Issue 3 867-H875, Copyright © 1989 by American Physiological Society
ARTICLES |
N. R. Danthuluri and R. C. Deth
Section of Pharmacology, College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Professions, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts 02115.
To evaluate the influence of intracellular alkalinization on basal and agonist-induced vascular tone, we studied the effect of NH4Cl on rat aorta. NH4Cl induced a gradually developing contraction in a dose-dependent manner. Although the contractile response to 20 mM NH4Cl was associated with a latent period (LP) of 23.4 +/- 2.8 min, intracellular pH (pHi) measurements in cultured rat aortic smooth muscle cells showed that NH4Cl-induced intracellular alkalinization was immediate and transient, returning to basal pHi levels in about 30-35 min. Agents that elevate Ca2+, such as A23187 and high KCl, significantly reduced the LP associated with 20 mM NH4Cl-induced contraction. NH4Cl-induced contractions were sensitive to extracellular Ca2+ removal and to the addition of forskolin (1 microM); however, NH4Cl by itself did not cause Ca2+-influx as shown by 45Ca-uptake studies. Addition of 20 mM NH4Cl to precontracted tissues resulted in a transient relaxation, which was complete in approximately 10 min, followed by a contraction above the original level of tone. NH4Cl pretreatment caused time-dependent alterations in both the rapid and slow phases of phenylephrine and angiotensin II contractions. Rapid-phase of phenylephrine and angiotensin II contractions. Rapid-phase responses were diminished at shorter NH4Cl incubation times (10 min), whereas slow-phase response was augmented after a longer incubation (20 min). Overall, the vasorelaxant and vasoconstrictor effects induced by NH4Cl suggest a complex relationship between intracellular alkalinization and arterial contractility.
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