Chronic administration of the HNO donor Angeli's salt does not lead to tolerance, cross-tolerance, or endothelial dysfunction: comparison with GTN and DEA/NO

Nitroxyl (HNO) displays distinct pharmacology to its redox congener nitric oxide (NO(•)) with therapeutic potential in the treatment of heart failure. It remains unknown if HNO donors are resistant to tolerance development following chronic in vivo administration. Wistar-Kyoto rats received a 3-day subcutaneous infusion of one of the NO(•) donors, glyceryl trinitrate (GTN) or diethylamine/NONOate (DEA/NO), or the HNO donor Angeli's salt (AS). GTN infusion (10 μg/kg/min) resulted in significantly blunted depressor responses to intravenous bolus doses of GTN, demonstrating tolerance development. By contrast, infusion with AS (20 μg/kg/min) or DEA/NO (2 μg/kg/min) did not alter their subsequent depressor responses. Similarly, ex vivo vasorelaxation responses in isolated aortae revealed that GTN infusion elicited a significant 6-fold decrease in the sensitivity to GTN and reduction in the maximum response to acetylcholine (ACh). Chronic infusion of AS or DEA/NO had no effect on subsequent vasorelaxation responses to themselves or to ACh. No functional cross-tolerance between nitrovasodilators was evident, either in vivo or ex vivo, although an impaired ability of a nitrovasodilator to increase tissue cGMP content was not necessarily indicative of a reduced functional response. In conclusion, HNO donors may represent novel therapies for cardiovascular disease with therapeutic potential over clinically used organic nitrates.