Alterations of the vascular and the myocardial guanylate cyclase/cGMP-system induced by long-term hypertension in rats.

NO as produced by NO-synthases (NOS) contributes to the regulation of cardiovascular functions. In hypertension, there is a reduced production and/or activity of endogenous NO in the vasculature. We investigated if hypertension alters the NO-sensitivity of soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) in blood vessels and heart muscle isolated from 15 month old spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR15) and normal Wistar rats (WIS). Inhibition of NOS by 1 mM N omega-nitro-L-arginine decreased dP/dtmax in WIS (-27.6 +/- 3.4%) and SHR15 (-26.0 +/- 4.4%), while stimulation of NOS with 1 mM L-arginine increased dP/dtmax in WIS (9.9 +/- 0.7%) and SHR15 (8.9 +/- 2.3%). The positive inotropic response to 0.1 microM glyceryl trinitrate (GTN) was comparable in WIS (dP/dtmax: 4.5 +/- 1.7%) and SHR15 (dP/dtmax: 3.75 +/- 0.7%) as was the positive inotropic response to the NO-donor sodium (Z)-1-(N,N-diethylamino)diazen-1-ium-1,2-diolat (DEA/NO, 1 microM) in WIS (dP/dtmax: 10.7 +/- 2.9%) and SHR15 (dP/dtmax: 5.1 +/- 1.5%, P = 0.1873). In aortas of SHR15 we found an increased superoxide production of 19.4 +/- 1.7 nM/mg/min (WIS: 6.1 +/- 0.6 nM/mg/min) in the smooth muscle and the endothelial layer. Endothelium-dependent relaxation by acetylcholine was markedly impaired in SHR15 as was the vasorelaxant activity of S-nitroso-N-acetyl-D,L-penicillamine (SNAP), pentaerythritol tetranitrate and GTN. Maximal cGMP-production by sGC isolated from the lung and stimulated with SNAP (0.5 mM) was much lower in SHR15 (115 +/- 14 pmol/mg/min) than in WIS (348 +/- 36 pmol/mg/min). We suggest that hypertension is associated with a reduced activity of the sGC/cGMP-system in the vasculature but not in the heart muscle. Our results provide the first evidence that excess superoxide production in hypertension may trigger a desensitization of vascular sGC.