The influence of chronic captopril treatment and its withdrawal on endothelium-dependent relaxation

The current experiments were designed to explore the relationship between the renin angiotensin system (RAS) and prostanoid formation in aortic ring preparations from spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). A further aim was to examine the mechanisms responsible for the reversal of the impaired acetylcholine (ACh) mediated relaxation induced by chronic administration of the angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor captopril and the relationship of the ACh response to blood pressure. Rats were administered captopril (100 mg/kg/day) and their blood pressures monitored from 5 to 17 weeks of age. ACh-mediated relaxation was determined in aortic ring preparations from untreated and treated rats, and drug withdrawn rats. The influence of indomethacin, saralasin, SQ29548 and captopril on ACh-mediated responses was determined. It was found that chronic captopril treatment produced a marked suppression of the development of hypertension in the SHR. After the withdrawal of the drug the blood pressure remained significantly lower than in untreated animals for 4 weeks. ACh relaxation was impaired in SHR ring segments; this was reversed with captopril treatment and returned to the impaired state upon withdrawal of the drug. In vitro inhibition of the RAS did not significantly influence ACh relaxation. In contrast, impairment of the prostanoid system in vitro reversed the impaired relaxation. The results suggest that the influence of captopril on enhancing ACh relaxation in the SHR does not involve an acute interaction of local angiotensin II synthesis with prostanoid mechanisms. Importantly, the results highlight a dissociation between the impaired ACh relaxation and elevated blood pressure in the SHR.