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Published on: September 22, 2011
Receptor-activating peptides for PAR-1 and PAR-2 relax rat gastric artery via multiple mechanisms
Atsufumi Kawabata1, Yumiko Nakaya, Tsuyoshi Ishiki
1Division of Physiology and Pathophysiology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kinki University, 3-4-1 Kowakae, Higashi-Osaka 577-8502, Japan. kawabata@phar.kindai.ac.jp
Abstract:
Receptor-activating peptides for protease-activated receptors (PARs) 1 or 2 enhance gastric mucosal blood flow (GMBF) and protect against gastric mucosal injury in rats. We thus examined and characterized the effects of PAR-1 and PAR-2 agonists on the isometric tension in isolated rat gastric artery. The agonists for PAR-2 or PAR-1 produced vasodilation in the endothelium-intact arterial rings, which was abolished by removal of the endothelium. The mechanisms underlying the PAR-2- and PAR-1-mediated relaxation involved NO, endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor (EDHF) and prostanoids, to distinct extent, as evaluated by use of inhibitors of NO synthase, cyclo-oxygenase and Ca2+-activated K+ channels. The EDHF-dependent relaxation responses were significantly attenuated by gap junction inhibitors. These findings demonstrate that endothelial PAR-1 and PAR-2, upon activation, dilate the gastric artery via NO and prostanoid formation and also EDHF mechanisms including gap junctions, which would enhance GMBF.
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