Effect of a high salt diet on microvascular antioxidant enzymes

High dietary salt intake decreases the endothelium-dependent dilation of skeletal muscle arterioles by inhibiting local nitric oxide (NO) activity without changing vascular smooth muscle responsiveness to NO. Under these conditions, microvascular walls show evidence of oxidative stress, and scavengers of reactive oxygen species (ROS) abolish this oxidative stress and restore normal arteriolar responses to acetylcholine (ACh). We tested the hypothesis that the salt-dependent appearance of microvascular ROS, and accompanying reduction in endothelium-dependent dilation, is due to a decrease in antioxidant enzyme expression or activity. We studied spinotrapezius muscle microvessels in rats fed normal (NS) (0.45%) or high (HS) (7%) salt diets for 4-5 weeks. Western analysis of arteriolar and venular protein showed no difference between groups in the content of superoxide dismutase (Cu/Zn SOD), catalase, or glutathione peroxidase. The catalase inhibitor 3-amino-1,2,4-triazole (3AT) increased arteriolar and venular oxidant activity (assessed by tetranitroblue tetrazolium reduction) by the same amount in both groups, suggesting similar levels of catalase activity. 3AT did not affect arteriolar responses to ACh in either group. The Cu/Zn SOD inhibitor diethyldithiocarbamate increased arteriolar and venular oxidant activity to a lesser extent in HS rats, suggesting reduced Cu/Zn SOD activity in this group. Cu/Zn SOD inhibition decreased arteriolar responses to ACh only in NS rats. These findings suggest that endogenous Cu/Zn SOD preserves the endothelium-dependent control of arteriolar tone in NS rats, and that a reduction in Cu/Zn SOD activity contributes to the loss of arteriolar NO activity in HS rats.