Iloprost maintains acetylcholine relaxations of isolated rabbit aortic strips submitted to hypoxia.

The protective activity of iloprost against hypoxia was studied in isolated rabbit aortic strips precontracted with angiotensin II on the relaxant effect of acetylcholine. Exposure of the strips to hypoxia in the medium of Krebs alone for 48 h caused a highly significant decrease in the relaxing effect of acetylcholine without altering that of papaverine. Iloprost (10(-9) mol/l), when added to the incubation medium before hypoxia, prevented the loss of the relaxing effect of acetylcholine in angiotensin II precontracted strips. These results were taken as evidence indicating possible protective activity of iloprost in vascular endothelium.