Cerebral artery alpha-1 AR subtypes: high altitude long-term acclimatization responses.
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ABSTRACT: In response to hypoxia and other stress, the sympathetic (adrenergic) nervous system regulates arterial contractility and blood flow, partly through differential activities of the alpha1 (?1) - adrenergic receptor (AR) subtypes (?1A-, ?1B-, and ?1D-AR). Thus, we tested the hypothesis that with acclimatization to long-term hypoxia (LTH), contractility of middle cerebral arteries (MCA) is regulated by changes in expression and activation of the specific ?1-AR subtypes. We conducted experiments in MCA from adult normoxic sheep maintained near sea level (300 m) and those exposed to LTH (110 days at 3801 m). Following acclimatization to LTH, ovine MCA showed a 20% reduction (n?=?5; P<0.05) in the maximum tension achieved by 10-5 M phenylephrine (PHE). LTH-acclimatized cerebral arteries also demonstrated a statistically significant (P<0.05) inhibition of PHE-induced contractility in the presence of specific ?1-AR subtype antagonists. Importantly, compared to normoxic vessels, there was significantly greater (P<0.05) ?1B-AR subtype mRNA and protein levels in LTH acclimatized MCA. Also, our results demonstrate that extracellular regulated kinase 1 and 2 (ERK1/2)-mediated negative feedback regulation of PHE-induced contractility is modulated by ?1B-AR subtype. Overall, in ovine MCA, LTH produces profound effects on ?1-AR subtype expression and function.
SUBMITTER: Goyal R
PROVIDER: S-EPMC4231100 | biostudies-literature | 2014
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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