Low exercise pulmonary resistance is not dependent on vasodilator prostaglandins

In resting conscious dogs, administration of cyclooxygenase inhibitors results in modest increases in pulmonary arterial pressure and pulmonary vascular resistance, suggesting that vasodilator prostaglandins play a role in maintaining the low vascular resistance in the pulmonary bed. To assess the role of these vasodilator prostaglandins on pulmonary vascular resistance during exercise, we studied seven mongrel dogs at rest and during exercise before and after intravenous meclofenamate (5 mg/kg). Following meclofenamate, pulmonary vascular resistance rose both at rest (250 24 vs. 300 +/- 27 dyn . s . cm-5, P less than 0.01) and with exercise (190 +/- 9 vs. 210 +/- 12 dyn . s . cm-5, P less than 0.05). Systemic vascular resistance rose slightly following meclofenamate both at rest and during exercise. There were no changes in cardiac output. The effects of cyclooxygenase inhibition, although significant, were less during exercise than at rest. This suggests that the normal fall in pulmonary vascular resistance during exercise depends largely on factors other than vasodilator prostaglandins.