Effects of NADPH oxidase inhibitors on hypoxic vasoconstriction in buffer-perfused rabbit lungs

The involvement of NADPH oxidase in hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction (HPV) was investigated in buffer-perfused rabbit lungs, employing the inhibitors diphenyleneiodonium (DPI) and apocynin. Responses to the vasoconstrictors U-46619 and angiotensin II (ANG II) were used to test specificity. Lung nitric oxide (NO) generation was assessed by on-line monitoring of NO exhalation (chemiluminescence), and the efficacy of DPI and apocynin on the NADPH oxidase-dependent O2- generation was quantified in alveolar macrophages by fluorescent-activated cell sorter technique. In a concentration range between 1 and 5 mM, apocynin inhibited macrophage respiratory burst and HPV but similarly suppressed U-46619-induced vasoconstrictor responses. DPI inhibited macrophage O2- generation in concentrations > or = 0.5 microM. At doses between 0.5 and 1.5 microM, DPI blocked lung NO generation, thereby increasing HPV. At higher doses (4 microM), in contrast, DPI fully blocked the hypoxia-induced pressor responses, whereas the vasoconstrictor responses to U-46619 and [Asn1, Val5] ANG II were not diminished. In the presence of NG-monomethyl-L-arginine, used to block lung NO generation throughout, DPI exhibited only the monophasic selective inhibition of HPV. We conclude that apocynin lacks specificity for HPV, but DPI, in addition to inhibiting lung NO generation, causes selective blockade of the hypoxia-induced vasoconstriction. This finding supports the hypothesis that an NADPH oxidase is involved in hypoxia sensing or specific signal transduction events underlying HPV.