Abstract
The venous system plays a crucial role in regulating cardiac output and blood pressure. Although the relationship between obesity and hypertension is well recognized, little is known about the effect of obesity on venous function. We examined if 16-week-old obese Zucker rats, relative to age-matched lean Zucker rats, had altered in vivo venoconstriction to noradrenaline. The obese rats, compared to the controls, had higher mean arterial pressure (MAP), body weight, and plasma insulin and triglycerides, but reduced pressor and mean circulatory filling pressure (MCFP, index of venous tone) responses to noradrenaline (2.5–30×10−9 mol/kg/min, i.v.). NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME, 8 mg/kg, i.v., non-selective inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase) did not alter MCFP in either group, but increased MAP of both groups, though the increase was markedly less in the obese than lean rats. Therefore, obese Zucker rats had increased baseline MAP, but impaired in vivo pressor and MCFP responses to noradrenaline, and reduced pressor response to L-NAME. The increased baseline MAP in the obese rats was not due to increased arterial and venous constriction to noradrenaline but rather to reduced influence of the nitric oxide/L-arginine system.
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Acknowledgements
This study was supported by grants from the Heart and Stroke Foundation of British Columbia and the Yukon and the Canadian Diabetes Association. We would like to thank Su Lin Lim for technical support. Dongzhe Song is the recipient of a doctoral research traineeship from the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, and Simon Hutchings is a recipient of a doctoral studentship award from the University of British Columbia.
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Song, D., Hutchings, S.R. & Pang, C.C.Y. Impaired in vivo venous constriction in conscious obese Zucker rats with metabolic syndrome. Naunyn-Schmied Arch Pharmacol 373, 451–456 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00210-006-0088-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00210-006-0088-8