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Leukotriene C4 affects pulmonary and cardiovascular dynamics in monkey

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Abstract

Leukotriene C4 (LTC4) and its metabolites LTD4 and LTE4 (Fig. 1) have been identified as the major active constituents of slow-reacting substance of anaphylaxis (SRS-A)1–3. Leukotrienes C4, D4 and E4 have rapidly gained recognition as bronchoconstrictors of hitherto unsurpassed potency in the guinea pig in vivo and in vitro4–7 as well as acting as oedema-forming substances in guinea pig3,5,7 and hamster8. Here we report that LTC4 is also a prominent bronchoconstrictor in the monkey; it increases transpulmonary pressure in the anaesthetized animal, mainly by decreasing pulmonary dynamic compliance, and it contracts isolated tracheal spiral tissue. Furthermore, LTC4 causes transient pulmonary and systemic hypertension, followed by a prolonged hypotensive period associated with decreased cardiac output, haemoconcentration and reduction in the number of circulating leukocytes. These in vivo findings in a primate imply that leukotrienes may also cause important alterations of cardiovascular and pulmonary function in man.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Experimental Medicine, Pharmacia AB, Uppsala, Sweden

    Göran Smedegård & Björn Revenäs

  2. Department of Experimental Allergy Research, Pharmacia AB, Uppsala, Sweden

    Göran Smedegård

  3. Department of Physiology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden

    Per Hedqvist & Sven-Erik Dahlén

  4. Department of Chemistry, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden

    Sven Hammarström & Bengt Samuelsson

Authors
  1. Göran Smedegård
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  2. Per Hedqvist
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  3. Sven-Erik Dahlén
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  4. Björn Revenäs
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  5. Sven Hammarström
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  6. Bengt Samuelsson
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Smedegård, G., Hedqvist, P., Dahlén, SE. et al. Leukotriene C4 affects pulmonary and cardiovascular dynamics in monkey. Nature 295, 327–329 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1038/295327a0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/295327a0

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