Effect of aclarubicin on contractile response of rat aorta

The effect of aclarubicin on vasocontractility was investigated using aortic strips isolated from rats. The aortic strips from rats injected i.p. with aclarubicin (4 mg/kg body weight per day for 5 consecutive days) showed diminished contractile responses to KCl and phenylephrine in comparison with the controls injected with 0.9% saline. In vitro preincubation of rat aorta with aclarubicin (20-80 micrograms/ml) attenuated the aortic contractile responses to KCl and phenylephrine compared with the control preincubated with 0.9% saline. These results suggest that aclarubicin reduces the contractility of vascular smooth muscle directly.