Influence of calcium-dependent potassium channel blockade and nitric oxide inhibition on norepinephrine-induced contractions in two forms of genetic hypertension

The activation of Ca2+-dependent K+ channels (BKCa) leads to the attenuation of vascular contraction. Our study aimed to evaluate BKCa influence on norepinephrine (NE)-induced femoral artery contraction in two forms of genetic hypertension. NE dose-response curves were studied before and after BKCa blockade or after combined blockade of BKCa and NO synthase (NOS) in femoral arteries with intact endothelium from normotensive Wistar (WIS), hypertensive hereditary hypertriglyceridemic (HTG), or spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). NE-induced contractions of femoral arteries were augmented in both hypertensive strains compared with Wistar rats, but acetylcholine-induced relaxation was impaired in HTG only. The increase of basal vascular tone of isolated arteries after BKCa blockade was similar in all rat strains, but subsequent NOS inhibition increased basal vascular tone more in vessels from both hypertensive rat strains. NOS inhibition increased sensitivity to NE in all strains, but BKCa blockade in SHR only. Neither treatment enhanced maximal NE-induced contraction. NO-dependent attenuation of NE-induced contractions was greater in SHR than HTG or Wistar vessels, whereas large conductance Ca2+-dependent K+ channels may play a greater role in modulating vascular contraction in the severe form of hypertension.