Thomas Dalsgaard

Generation of nitric oxide from nitrite by carbonic anhydrase: a possible link between metabolic activity and vasodilation.

In catalyzing the reversible hydration of CO2 to bicarbonate and protons, the ubiquitous enzyme carbonic anhydrase (CA) plays a crucial role in CO2 transport, in acid-base balance, and in linking local acidosis to O2 unloading from hemoglobin. Considering the structural similarity between bicarbonate and nitrite, we hypothesized that CA uses nitrite as a substrate to produce the potent vasodilator nitric oxide (NO) to increase local blood flow to metabolically active tissues. Here we show that CA readily reacts with nitrite to generate NO, particularly at low pH, and that the NO produced in the reaction induces vasodilation in aortic rings. This reaction occurs under normoxic and hypoxic conditions and in various tissues at physiological levels of CA and nitrite. Furthermore, two specific inhibitors of the CO2 hydration, dorzolamide and acetazolamide, increase the CA-catalyzed production of vasoactive NO from nitrite. This enhancing effect may explain the known vasodilating effects of these drugs and indicates that CO2 and nitrite bind differently to the enzyme active site. Kinetic analyses show a higher reaction rate at high pH, suggesting that anionic nitrite participates more effectively in catalysis. Taken together, our results reveal a novel nitrous anhydrase enzymatic activity of CA that would function to link the in vivo main end products of energy metabolism (CO2/H+) to the generation of vasoactive NO. The CA-mediated NO production may be important to the correlation between blood flow and metabolic activity in tissues, as occurring for instance in active areas of the brain.

Novel approaches to improving endothelium-dependent nitric oxide-mediated vasodilatation

Endothelial dysfunction, which is defined by decreased endothelium-dependent vasodilatation, is associated with an increased number of cardiovascular events. Nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability is reduced by altered endothelial signal transduction or increased formation of radical oxygen species reacting with NO. Endothelial dysfunction is therapeutically reversible and physical exercise, calcium channel blockers, angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors, and angiotensin receptor antagonists improve flow-evoked endothelium-dependent vasodilation in patients with hypertension and diabetes. We have investigated three different approaches, with the aim of correcting endothelial dysfunction in cardiovascular disease. Thus, (1) we evaluated the effect of a cell permeable superoxide dismutase mimetic, tempol, on endothelial dysfunction in small arteries exposed to high pressure, (2) investigated the endothelial signal transduction pathways involved in vasorelaxation and NO release induced by an olive oil component, oleanolic acid, and (3) investigated the role of calcium-activated K channels in the release of NO induced by receptor activation. Tempol increases endothelium-dependent vasodilatation in arteries from hypertensive animals most likely through the lowering of radical oxygen species, but other mechanisms also appear to contribute to the effect. While oleanolic acid leads to the release of NO by calcium-independent phosphorylation of endothelial NO synthase, endothelial calcium-activated K channels and an influx of calcium play an important role in G-protein coupled receptor-evoked release of NO. Thus, all three approaches increase bioavailability of NO in the vascular wall, but it remains to be addressed whether these actions have any direct benefit at a clinical level.

Opening of Small and Intermediate Calcium-Activated Potassium Channels Induces Relaxation Mainly Mediated by Nitric-Oxide Release in Large Arteries and Endothelium-Derived Hyperpolarizing Factor in Small Arteries from Rat

This study was designed to investigate whether calcium-activated potassium channels of small (SKCa or KCa2) and intermediate (IKCa or KCa3.1) conductance activated by 6,7-dichloro-1H-indole-2,3-dione 3-oxime (NS309) are involved in both nitric oxide (NO) and endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor (EDHF)-type relaxation in large and small rat mesenteric arteries. Segments of rat superior and small mesenteric arteries were mounted in myographs for functional studies. NO was recorded using NO microsensors. SKCa and IKCa channel currents and mRNA expression were investigated in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), and calcium concentrations were investigated in both HUVECs and mesenteric arterial endothelial cells. In both superior (∼1093 μm) and small mesenteric (∼300 μm) arteries, NS309 evoked endothelium- and concentration-dependent relaxations. In superior mesenteric arteries, NS309 relaxations and NO release were inhibited by both NG,NG-asymmetric dimethyl-l-arginine (ADMA) (300 μM), an inhibitor of NO synthase, and apamin (0.5 μM) plus 1-[(2-chlorophenyl)diphenylmethyl]-1H-pyrazole (TRAM-34) (1 μM), blockers of SKCa and IKCa channels, respectively. In small mesenteric arteries, NS309 relaxations were reduced slightly by ADMA, whereas apamin plus an IKCa channel blocker almost abolished relaxation. Iberiotoxin did not change NS309 relaxation. HUVECs expressed mRNA for SKCa and IKCa channels, and NS309 induced increases in calcium, outward current, and NO release that were blocked by apamin and TRAM-34 or charybdotoxin. These findings suggest that opening of SKCa and IKCa channels leads to endothelium-dependent relaxation that is mediated mainly by NO in large mesenteric arteries and by EDHF-type relaxation in small mesenteric arteries. NS309-induced calcium influx appears to contribute to the formation of NO.

Openers of small conductance calcium-activated potassium channels selectively enhance NO-mediated bradykinin vasodilatation in porcine retinal arterioles

Background and purpose:  Small (SKCa or KCa2) and intermediate (IKCa or KCa3.1) conductance calcium‐activated potassium channels are involved in regulation of vascular tone and blood pressure. The present study investigated whether NS309 (6,7‐dichloro‐1H‐indole‐2,3‐dione 3‐oxime) and CyPPA (cyclohexyl‐[2‐(3,5‐dimethyl‐pyrazol‐1‐yl)‐6‐methyl‐pyrimidin‐4‐yl]‐amine), which are selective openers of SKCa and IKCa channels and of SKCa2 and SKCa3 channels, respectively, enhance endothelium‐dependent vasodilatation in porcine retinal arterioles.

Role of calcium-activated potassium channels with small conductance in bradykinin-induced vasodilation of porcine retinal arterioles.

PURPOSE Endothelial dysfunction and impaired vasodilation may be involved in the pathogenesis of retinal vascular diseases. In the present study, the mechanisms underlying bradykinin vasodilation were examined and whether calcium-activated potassium channels of small (SK(Ca)) and intermediate (IK(Ca)) conductance are involved in regulation of endothelium-dependent vasodilation in retinal arterioles was investigated. METHODS Porcine retinal arterioles (diameter approximately 112 microm, N = 119) were mounted in microvascular myographs for isometric tension recordings. The arterioles were contracted with the thromboxane analogue, U46619, and concentration-response curves were constructed for bradykinin and a novel opener of SK(Ca) and IK(Ca) channels, NS309. RESULTS In U46619-contracted arterioles, bradykinin and NS309 induced concentration-dependent relaxations. In vessels without endothelium, bradykinin relaxation was abolished and NS309 relaxation was attenuated. Inhibition of NO synthase with asymmetric dimethylarginine and/or cyclooxygenase with indomethacin markedly reduced bradykinin and NS309 relaxation. NO synthase and cyclooxygenase inhibition together with oxyhemoglobin abolished bradykinin relaxation and attenuated NS309 relaxation. Blocking of SK(Ca) and IK(Ca) channels with apamin plus charybdotoxin or blocking of SK(Ca) channels alone in the absence and the presence of indomethacin markedly reduced bradykinin and NS309 relaxation, whereas blocking of IK(Ca) channels had no significant effect. In vessels without endothelium, blocking of SK(Ca) channels alone had no effect on sodium nitroprusside-induced relaxation. CONCLUSIONS In porcine retinal arterioles, NO and prostaglandins mediate endothelium-dependent relaxation to bradykinin and NS309. Moreover, these findings suggest that SK(Ca) channels contribute to NO-mediated relaxation induced by bradykinin and NS309 and, hence, may play an important role in retinal arterial endothelial function.

Calcium-activated potassium channels -- a therapeutic target for modulating nitric oxide in cardiovascular disease?

Importance of the field: Cardiovascular risk factors are often associated with endothelial dysfunction, which is also prognostic for occurrence of cardiovascular events. Endothelial dysfunction is reflected by blunted vasodilatation and reduced nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability. Endothelium-dependent vasodilatation is mediated by NO, prostacyclin, and an endothelium-derived hyperpolarising factor (EDHF), and involves small (SK) and intermediate (IK) conductance Ca2+-activated K+ channels. Therefore, SK and IK channels may be drug targets for the treatment of endothelial dysfunction in cardiovascular disease. Areas covered in this review: SK and IK channels are involved in EDHF-type vasodilatation, but recent studies suggest that these channels are also involved in the regulation of NO bioavailability. Here we review how SK and IK channels may regulate NO bioavailability. What the reader will gain: Opening of SK and IK channels is associated with EDHF-type vasodilatation, but, through increased endothelial cell Ca2+ influx, l-arginine uptake, and decreased ROS production, it may also lead to increased NO bioavailability and endothelium-dependent vasodilatation. Take home message: Opening of SK and IK channels can increase both EDHF and NO-mediated vasodilatation. Therefore, openers of SK and IK channels may have the potential of improving endothelial cell function in cardiovascular disease.

Activation of endothelial and epithelial KCa2.3 calcium-activated potassium channels by NS309 relaxes human small pulmonary arteries and bronchioles

Small (KCa2) and intermediate (KCa3.1) conductance calcium‐activated potassium channels (KCa) may contribute to both epithelium‐ and endothelium‐dependent relaxations, but this has not been established in human pulmonary arteries and bronchioles. Therefore, we investigated the expression of KCa2.3 and KCa3.1 channels, and hypothesized that activation of these channels would produce relaxation of human bronchioles and pulmonary arteries.

A NO way to BOLD? Dietary nitrate alters the hemodynamic response to visual stimulation.

Neurovascular coupling links neuronal activity to vasodilation. Nitric oxide (NO) is a potent vasodilator, and in neurovascular coupling NO production from NO synthases plays an important role. However, another pathway for NO production also exists, namely the nitrate-nitrite-NO pathway. On this basis, we hypothesized that dietary nitrate (NO3-) could influence the brains hemodynamic response to neuronal stimulation. In the present study, 20 healthy male participants were given either sodium nitrate (NaNO3) or sodium chloride (NaCl) (saline placebo) in a crossover study and were shown visual stimuli based on the retinotopic characteristics of the visual cortex. Our primary measure of the hemodynamic response was the blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) response measured with high-resolution functional magnetic resonance imaging (0.64×0.64×1.8 mm) in the visual cortex. From this response, we made a direct estimate of key parameters characterizing the shape of the BOLD response (i.e. lag and amplitude). During elevated nitrate intake, corresponding to the nitrate content of a large plate of salad, both the hemodynamic lag and the BOLD amplitude decreased significantly (7.0±2% and 7.9±4%, respectively), and the variation across activated voxels of both measures decreased (12.3±4% and 15.3±7%, respectively). The baseline cerebral blood flow was not affected by nitrate. Our experiments demonstrate, for the first time, that dietary nitrate may modulate the local cerebral hemodynamic response to stimuli. A faster and smaller BOLD response, with less variation across local cortex, is consistent with an enhanced hemodynamic coupling during elevated nitrate intake. These findings suggest that dietary patterns, via the nitrate-nitrite-NO pathway, may be a potential way to affect key properties of neurovascular coupling. This could have major clinical implications, which remain to be explored.

Genetic deficit of KCa3.1 channels protects against pulmonary circulatory collapse induced by TRPV4 channel activation

The intermediate conductance calcium/calmodulin‐regulated K+ channel KCa3.1 produces hyperpolarizing K+ currents that counteract depolarizing currents carried by transient receptor potential (TRP) channels, and provide the electrochemical driving force for Cl− and fluid movements. We investigated whether a deficiency in KCa3.1 (KCa3.1−/−) protects against fatal pulmonary circulatory collapse in mice after pharmacological activation of the calcium‐permeable TRP subfamily vanilloid type 4 (TRPV4) channels.

Mechanisms underlying epithelium-dependent relaxation in rat bronchioles: analogy to EDHF-type relaxation in rat pulmonary arteries

This study investigated the mechanisms underlying epithelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor (EpDHF)-type relaxation in rat bronchioles. Immunohistochemistry was performed, and rat bronchioles and pulmonary arteries were mounted in microvascular myographs for functional studies. An opener of small (SK(Ca)) and intermediate (IK(Ca))-conductance calcium-activated potassium channels, NS309 (6,7-dichloro-1H-indole-2,3-dione 3-oxime) was used to induce EpDHF-type relaxation. IK(Ca) and SK(Ca)3 positive immunoreactions were observed mainly in the epithelium and endothelium of bronchioles and arteries, respectively. In 5-hydroxytryptamine (1 microM)-contracted bronchioles (828 +/- 20 microm, n = 84) and U46619 (0.03 microM)-contracted arteries (720 +/- 24 microm, n = 68), NS309 (0.001-10 microM) induced concentration-dependent relaxations that were reduced by epithelium/endothelium removal and by blocking IK(Ca) channels with charybdotoxin and in bronchioles also by blocking SK(Ca) channels with apamin. Inhibition of cyclooxygenase, nitric oxide synthase, and cytochrome 2C isoenzymes, or blockade of large (BK(Ca))-conductance calcium-activated potassium channels with iberiotoxin, failed to reduce NS309 relaxation. In contrast to the pulmonary arteries, relaxations to a beta(2)-adrenoceptor agonist, salbutamol, were reduced in bronchioles by removing the epithelium or blocking IK(Ca) and/or SK(Ca) channels. Extracellular K(+) (2-20 mM) induced relaxation in both bronchioles and arteries. An inhibitor of Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase, ouabain, abolished relaxations to NS309, salbutamol, and K(+). These results suggest that IK(Ca) and SK(Ca)3 channels are located in the epithelium of bronchioles and endothelium of pulmonary arteries. Analog to the endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor (EDHF)-type relaxation in pulmonary arteries, these channels may be involved in EpDHF-type relaxation of bronchioles caused by epithelial K(+) efflux followed by activation of Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase in the underlying smooth muscle layer.