Down-Regulation of the Expression of Endothelial NO Synthase Is Likely to Contribute to Glucocorticoid-Mediated Hypertension

Hypertension is a side effect of systemically administered glucocorticoids, but the underlying molecular mechanism remains poorly understood. Ingestion of dexamethasone by rats telemetrically instrumented increased blood pressure progressively over 7 days. Plasma concentrations of Na+ and K+ and uri...

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Veröffentlicht in:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS 1999-11, Vol.96 (23), p.13357-13362
Hauptverfasser: Wallerath, Thomas, Witte, Klaus, Schäfer, Stephan C., Schwarz, Petra M., Prellwitz, Winfried, Wohlfart, Paulus, Kleinert, Hartmut, Lehr, Hans-Anton, Lemmer, Björn, Förstermann, Ulrich
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Sprache:eng
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Zusammenfassung:Hypertension is a side effect of systemically administered glucocorticoids, but the underlying molecular mechanism remains poorly understood. Ingestion of dexamethasone by rats telemetrically instrumented increased blood pressure progressively over 7 days. Plasma concentrations of Na+ and K+ and urinary Na+ and K+ excretion remained constant, excluding a mineralocorticoid-mediated mechanism. Plasma NO2-/NO3- (the oxidation products of NO) decreased to 40%, and the expression of endothelial NO synthase (NOS III) was found down-regulated in the aorta and several other tissues of glucocorticoid-treated rats. The vasodilator response of resistance arterioles was tested by intravital microscopy in the mouse dorsal skinfold chamber model. Dexamethasone treatment significantly attenuated the relaxation to the endothelium-dependent vasodilator acetylcholine, but not to the endothelium-independent vasodilator S-nitroso-N-acetyl-D,L-penicillamine. Incubation of human umbilical vein endothelial cells, EA.hy 926 cells, or bovine aortic endothelial cells with several glucocorticoids reduced NOS III mRNA and protein expression to 60-70% of control, an effect that was prevented by the glucocorticoid receptor antagonist mifepristone. Glucocorticoids decreased NOS III mRNA stability and reduced the activity of the human NOS III promoter (3.5 kilobases) to ≈ 70% by decreasing the binding activity of the essential transcription factor GATA. The expressional down-regulation of endothelial NOS III may contribute to the hypertension caused by glucocorticoids.
ISSN:0027-8424
1091-6490
DOI:10.1073/pnas.96.23.13357