Clinical and experimental pharmacology & physiology
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Clin. Exp. Pharmacol. Physiol. · Dec 2006
Altered L-arginine/nitric oxide synthase/nitric oxide pathway in the vascular adventitia of rats with sepsis.
1. In recent studies, the vascular adventitia has been established as an important source of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and subsequent nitric oxide (NO) production, even more powerful than the media in response to certain inflammatory factors, such as lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The adventitia has an independent L-arginine (L-Arg)/NOS/NO pathway and is involved in the regulation of vascular function. ⋯ The NO levels in the plasma and incubation media (incubation for 40 min) in the sepsis group were increased by 144 and 273%, respectively (both P < 0.01). 6. The Arg/NOS/NO pathway was activated in the vascular adventitia of rats with sepsis shock. The L-Arg/NOS/NO pathway in the aortic adventitia may play an important role in the pathogenesis of sepsis and septic shock.