Effects of asymmetric dimethylarginine on renal arteries in portal hypertension and cirrhosis

AIM To evaluate the effects of asymmetric dimethylarginine(ADMA) in renal arteries from portal hypertensive and cirrhotic rats.METHODS Rat renal arteries from Sham(n = 15), pre-hepatic portal hypertension(PPVL; n = 15) and bile duct ligation and excision-induced cirrhosis(BDL; n = 15) were precontracted with norepinephrine, and additional contractions were induced with ADMA(10-6-10-3 mol/L), an endogenous inhibitor of nitric oxide(NO) synthase. Concentration-response curves to acetylcholine(1 × 10-9^(-3) × 10^(-6) mol/L) were determined in precontractedrenal artery segments with norepinephrine in the absence and in the presence of ADMA. Kidneys were collected to determine the protein expression and activity of dimethylarginine dimethylaminohydrolase(DDAH), an enzyme that catabolizes ADMA. RESULTS In renal arteries precontracted with norepinephrine, ADMA caused endothelium-dependent contractions. The pD 2 values to ADMA were similar in the Sham and PPVL groups(4.20 ± 0.08 and 4.11 ± 0.09, P > 0.05, respectively), but were lower than those of the BDL group(4.79 ± 0.16, P < 0.05). Acetylcholine-induced endothelium-dependent relaxation that did not differ, in terms of p D2 and maximal relaxation, among the 3 groups studied. Treatment with ADMA(3 × 10^(-4) mol/L) inhibited acetylcholine-induced relaxation in the 3 groups, but the inhibition was higher(P < 0.05) in the BDL group compared with that for the Sham and PPVL groups. The m RNA and protein expression of DDAH-1 were similar in kidneys from the three groups. Conversely, DDAH-2 expression was increased(P < 0.05) in PPVL and further enhanced(P < 0.05) in the BDL group. However, renal DDAH activity was significantly decreased in the BDL group. CONCLUSION Cirrhosis increased the inhibitory effect of ADMA on basal- and induced-release of NO in renal arteries, and decreased DDAH activity in the kidney.

DDAH2(-449 G/C) G allele is positively associated with leukoaraiosis in northeastern China: a double-blind, intergroup comparison, case-control study

Cerebrovascular endothelial dysfunction is involved in the progression of leukoaraiosis. Asymmetric dimethylarginine is a competitive inhibitor of nitric oxide, which is highly expressed in patients with leukoaraiosis. Dimethylarginine dimethylaminohydrolase(DDAH) is a hydrolytic enzyme that is primarily responsible for eliminating asymmetric dimethylarginine, and it plays a role in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. The DDAH2 subtype is expressed in organs rich in induced nitric oxide synthase, including the heart, the placenta, and the cerebral endothelium during cerebral ischemia, in the stress state, or under neurotoxicity. Overexpression of the DDAH2 gene can inhibit asymmetric dimethylarginine-induced peripheral circulating endothelial cell dysfunction. However, it is unknown whether this polymorphism regulates plasma asymmetric dimethylarginine levels in patients with leukoaraiosis. In this doubleblind study, we recruited 46 patients with leukoaraiosis and 46 healthy, matched controls. Plasma asymmetric dimethylarginine levels were determined using enzyme-linked immunoassays. Genomic DNA was isolated from whole blood samples, and polymerase chain reaction, Sma I restriction enzyme digestion, restriction fragment length polymorphisms, and agarose electrophoresis were used to detect DDAH2(-449 G/C) gene polymorphisms. The results revealed that 95.65% of leukoaraiosis patients had recessive genetic models(GG and CG), while 89.13% of healthy control subjects had dominant genetic models(CC and CG). There was a significant difference in the genotype composition ratio between leukoaraiosis patients and healthy controls(P = 0.0002). The frequency of G alleles in the leukoaraiosis patients(71.74%) was significantly higher than in healthy controls, whereas the frequency of C alleles was lower(χ~2 = 13.9580, P = 0.0002). Furthermore, asymmetric dimethylarginine concentrations in subjects with the GG genotype were significantly higher than in subjects with the CG and CC genotypes(Kruskal–Wallis H = 24.5955, P < 0.0001). In addition, the GG genotype of DDAH2(-449 G/C) was more common in patients with leukoaraiosis. These findings suggest that the G allele of DDAH2(-449 G/C) is a risk factor for leukoaraiosis morbidity and is correlated with high levels of asymmetric dimethylarginine. This study was approved by the Institutional Ethics Committee of the 2~(nd) Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University of China(approval No. KY2016-177) on July 28, 2016.

Effect of aspirin on high glucose-induced senescence of endothelial cells

Background Endothelial cell senescence is accelerated under high glucose condition, which may contribute to the vascular complications in the diabetics, tt has been proved that aspirin has multiple cytoprotective effects. This study aimed to investigate the effect of aspirin on high glucose-induced endothelial cell senescence and its possible mechanism. Methods Human umbilical venous endothelial cells were cultured in Dulbecco＇s modified Eagle＇s medium （DMEM） with different treatments including the normal glucose （5.5 mmol/L）, high glucose （33 mmol/L） and aspirin （0.01-1.00 mmol/L） with high glucose. And 300 umol/L L-NAME was added to the culture medium when needed. After 48 hours, SA-13-gal staining was used to evaluate the senescence. Total nitric oxide （NO） production and NO synthase （NOS） activity were measured using Griess reaction and molecular probes of 3-amino-4-aminomethyl-2＇, 7＇- difluorescein, diacetate. The level of intracellular reactive oxygen species was monitored by flow cytometry using 2＇, 7＇-dichlorofluorescein diacetate. Endothelial NOS （eNOS）, caveolin-1 protein expressions and caveolin-1/eNOS interaction were analyzed by immunoblotting and immunoprecipitation respectively. Asymmetric dimethylarginine （ADMA） concentration was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography. Results Exposure to 33 mmol/L glucose for 48 hours significantly increased the number of SA-13-gal positive cells. Co-incubation with aspirin markedly inhibited SA-13-gal activity dose-dependently. Aspirin increased NOS activity with eNOS protein expression unchanged and increased NO levels and alleviated oxidative stress. Consistent with these findings, caveolin-1 expression, caveolin-1/eNOS interaction and ADMA accumulation were also decreased. All the inhibitory effects of aspirin on senescence were completely obliterated by L-NAME, the NOS inhibitor. Conclusion The anti-senescent effects of aspirin are fulfilled by increasing NO production via the up-regulation of NOS activity and preventing caveolin-1 expression, caveolin-1/eNOS interaction and ADMA accumulation.

Ep,gallocatechin-3-gallate ameliorates erectile function in aged rats via regulation of PRMT1/ DDAH/ADMA/NOS metabolism pathway

Aging-related ED is predominantly attributed to neurovascular dysfunction mediated by NO suppression and increased oxidative stress in penis. The alterations of protein arginine methyltransferases 1 （PRMT1）/dimethylarginine dimethylaminohydrolase （DDAH）/ asymmetrical dimethylarginine （ADMA）/NO synthase （NOS） pathway regulate NO production in the vascular endothelium. Epigallocatechin-3-gallate （EGCG） is one of the most abundant and antioxidative ingredients isolated from green tea. In the present study, 40 Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly distributed into four groups： one young rat group and three aged rat groups treated with daily gavage feedings of EGCG at doses of O, 10 mg kg-1, and 100 mg kg-1 for 12 weeks, respectively. Erectile function was assessed by electrical stimulation of the cavernous nerves with intracavernous pressure （ICP） measurement. After euthanasia, penile tissue was investigated using Western blot and ELISA to assess the PRMTI/DDAH/ADMA/NOS metabolism pathway. Superoxide dismutase （SOD） and malondialdehyde （MDA） levels were detected by colorimetry. We also evaluated smooth muscle contents. The ratio of maximal ICP and mean systemic arterial pressure （MAP） was markedly higher in EGCG-treated aged rats than in untreated aged rats. We found that DDAH 1 and DDAH2 were expressed in cavernosal tissue, and they were downregulated in corpora of aged rats. The administration of EGCG upregulated the expression and activity of DDAH. In contrast, EGCG treatment downregulated the expression of PRMT1 and ADMA content. Moreover, EGCG-treated rats showed an improvement in smooth muscle expression, the ratio of smooth muscle cell/collagen fibril, SOD activity, and MDA levels when compared with untreated aged rats.