Regulation of Vascular Smooth Muscle Contractions in the Model of Metabolic Syndrome

Reduced glucose tolerance, hyperglycemia, and imbalance in lipid levels were found in rats with metabolic syndrome induced by a high-fat, high-carbohydrate diet. The contractile responses of intact and endothelium-denuded aortic smooth muscle segments from rats with metabolic syndrome to application of acetylcholine, phenylephrine, sodium nitroprusside, and forskolin were studied by mechanographic method. It was found that endothelial dysfunction develops against the background of metabolic and hemodynamic disorders in metabolic syndrome. It was shown that the regulation of vasoconstrictor reactions of vascular smooth muscles in metabolic syndrome is due to a decrease in Ca²⁺ entry, mainly voltage-independent, as well as changes in the function of cGMP- and cAMP-activated K⁺-channels.