The potentiation of nitroglycerin-induced relaxation by PKG inhibition in rat aortic rings

1. In rat aortic rings precontracted by phenylephrine, H7 (10(-5)M) and staurosporine (10(-7)M), which inhibit PKA, PKG and PKC, and H-89 (10(-6)M), which inhibits PKA and PKG, potentiated relaxations induced by nitroglycerin. Forskolin-induced relaxations were not affected by H7 (10(-5)M). 2. Nitroglycerin-induced relaxations were not affected by calphostin-C (10(-7)M), which inhibits PKC, H-89 (10(-7)M), which inhibits PKA, and staurosporine (2 x 10(-9)M), which inhibits PKC. 3. Iberiotoxin (3 x 10(-8)M), an inhibitor of large conductance Kca channels, partly inhibited the relaxation induced by nitroglycerin and completely inhibited the potentiating effect of H7 on nitroglycerin-induced relaxations. 4. The potentiating effect of zaprinast (10(-5)M), an inhibitor of cGMP-phosphodiesterase, on nitroglycerin-induced relaxation was not affected by iberiotoxin. In the presence of methylene blue (10(-5)M), an inhibitor of guanylate cyclase, the residual relaxing response to nitroglycerin was not affected by H7, but it was inhibited by iberiotoxin. 5. These results suggest that the potentiation of nitroglycerin-induced relaxation by H7, staurosporine and H-89 may be due to inhibition of PKG.