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Published on: January 14, 2014
Decreased vascular contractility induced by hemin is associated with a reduced rho-kinase activity
Bonaventure Awede1, Marie-Christine Lemaire, Pierre Bonnet
1LAB.P.ART.-EA3852, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tours, 10 bis Boulevard Tonnellé, Tours, France.
Objectives:
In this study, the role of rho-kinase activity in the modulation of vascular contractility induced by hemin, a heme oxygenase inducer, was investigated.
Methods:
Aortic rings from Wistar rats were incubated in physiological saline solution (PSS) containing hemin at 10-(4) M for six hours then contracted with phenylephrine, and a dose-response curve was established. The effect of Y-27632, a rho-kinase inhibitor, on the relaxation of the pre-contracted aortic rings was then studied.
Results:
Incubation of the aortic rings in hemin induced an increased expression of heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1). A reduction in the contractile force of aortic rings incubated in hemin was observed in response to phenylephrine. Y-27632 at a concentration of 10-(6) M induced a 36% relaxation of the control aortic rings but only a 20% relaxation in aortic rings treated with hemin.
Conclusion:
These data suggest that the decreased vascular contractility induced by hemin could, in part, result from an inhibition of rho-kinase activity.
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