[Central reactive oxygen species mediate cardiovascular effects of urotensin II in spontaneously hypertensive rats].

Central urotensin II (UII) may participate in the regulation of cardiovascular functions by stimulating sympathy pathway. However, the central mechanism remained unknown. Recent studies have shown that brain reactive oxygen species (ROS) mediate the sympatho-excitatory effects. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that ROS mediate central cardiovascular effects of UII. Experiments were conducted in Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). Immunocytochemistry, intracerebroventricular (icv) infusion and lucigenin-enhanced chemiluminescence assay were employed to detect UII receptor expression and ROS level, respectively. The following results were obtained: (1) Expressions of UII receptors of rostral ventrolateral medulla (RVLM) and nucleus tractus solitarii (NTS) were increased in SHR rats compared with WKY rats (P < 0.05). (2) UII (icv) significantly increased mean arterial pressure (MAP) (P < 0.05), and the effect of UII was significantly more pronounced in SHR rats than that in WKY rats (P < 0.05); (3) Tempol (a superoxide dismutase mimic) or Urantide (an antagonist of UII receptor) pretreatments eliminated the pressor effect of UII (P < 0.05) in SHR rats; (4) Brain superoxide level was increased in UII-treated SHR rats compared with that in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)-treated SHR rats (P < 0.05). These results indicate that ROS mediate central cardiovascular effects of UII in SHR rats and provide evidence for a novel relationship between UII and ROS.