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Impaired contractile response of mesenteric arteries in Crohn's disease
G Lebuffe1, E Haddad, P Desreumaux
1Laboratoire de pharmacologie, Faculté de médecine, Lille, France.
Background:
Crohn's disease is associated with vascular injury and dysregulation of the intestinal immune system which together can provide disturbance of mesenteric circulation functional properties.
Aim:
To evaluate the vascular reactivity of mesenteric arteries from patients with Crohn's disease.
Methods:
Phenylephrine-induced contractions were assessed from 10 patients with Crohn's disease and 8 control organ donors. NG-nitro-L-arginine-methyl-ester (L-NAME) was used to test the presence of inducible NO synthase. Endothelium dependent and independent relaxation was assessed using acetylcholine, bradykinin, calcium ionophore A23187 and sodium nitroprusside.
Results:
The contractile response to phenylephrine was significantly decreased in arteries without endothelium from patients with Crohn's disease. Exposure to the NO synthase inhibitor L-NAME restored the contractile response to phenylephrine. Relaxation remained unaltered in both groups.
Conclusion:
These data provide direct evidence for fading of contraction caused by phenylephrine in Crohn's disease. The restored mesenteric artery tone by a specific NO synthase inhibitor suggests that an increased production for NO in vascular smooth muscle might be responsible of this altered vascular reactivity.