Yonsei Med J.  2006 Apr;47(2):249-254. 10.3349/ymj.2006.47.2.249.

Elevated Contractile Responses to Acetylcholine in Organ Cultured Rabbit Carotid Artery

• Lee Y
• Jung S
• Won JE
• Nam T
• Ahn D

• KMID: 1110750
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3349/ymj.2006.47.2.249

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to examine the functional changes that occur when a rabbit carotid artery is cultured in serum-free medium. In endothelium (EC)-intact arteries cultured under serum-free conditions, acetylcholine (ACh)-induced relaxation responses were partially, yet significantly, reduced when compared with freshly isolated arteries. After pretreatment with N(G)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME), a nitric oxide synthase inhibitor, application of ACh resulted in a significant contraction in organ cultured arteries. The amplitude of the ACh-induced contractions increased with the duration of culture. In EC-denuded arteries cultured under serum-free conditions, ACh induced responses similar to those in EC-intact arteries pretreated with L-NAME. Furthermore, ACh caused a significant increase in intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) in EC-denuded arteries cultured under serum-free condition for 7 days. There was little change in either [Ca2+]i or tension in freshly isolated carotid rings. There was no difference in sodium nitroprusside-induced relaxation responses between fresh and cultured arteries. These results suggest that prolonged culture of carotid arteries under serum-free conditions changes the functional properties of vascular reactivity in rabbit carotid arteries.

Keyword

Organ culture; carotid artery; acetylcholine; N(G)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester; Ca2+ regulation

MeSH Terms

Time Factors
Rabbits
Organ Culture Techniques/*methods
Nitroprusside/pharmacology
NG-Nitroarginine Methyl Ester/metabolism/pharmacology
*Muscle Contraction
Models, Statistical
Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
Culture Media, Serum-Free/metabolism
Carotid Arteries/*drug effects/metabolism/*pathology
Calcium/metabolism
Animals
Acetylcholine/*pharmacology

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