[Change in contractile vascular function in arterial hypertension of different genesis and its correction with...

We examined the effects of phosphatidylcholine liposomes (PCL) upon the contractile vascular dysfunction in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and gamma-irradiated (60Co, 6 Gy) rats and rabbits. A significant impairment of endothelium-dependent relaxation was evident in both SHR and irradiated animals. An important novel finding of these experiments is that the impairment was mainly due to the loss of NO-dependent component of relaxation, with the component of relaxation mediated by EDHF being preserved. PCL were found to restore endothelium-dependent relaxation in both SHR and the irradiated vascular tissues. It is important to note that irradiated animals exhibited distinct and sustained signs of hypertension (blood pressure (BP) increased from 122 +/- 8 to 185 +/- 6 mm Hg). Being administered in a single dose of 30 mg/kg, 1 h after irradiation, PCL prevented hypertension development in an early post-irradiated period (9 days). At a later post-irradiated period (6 months), PCL in the single dose lost such a protective effect. Single administration of PCL in SHR led to a transient decrease in BP, but their repeated daily administration caused a persistent decrease in BP up to its normalization as early as in 4 days. These results suggest that PCL possess hypotensive activities due to their ability to normalize endothelial function.