This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Kim, P. Articles by Vanhoutte, P. M. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Kim, P. Articles by Vanhoutte, P. M.

Stroke, Vol 23, 407-413, Copyright © 1992 by American Heart Association

ARTICLES

Dietary omega-3 fatty acids and endothelium-dependent responses in porcine cerebral arteries

P Kim, H Shimokawa and PM Vanhoutte
Department of Physiology and Biophysics Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.

PURPOSE: We sought to determine the effect of dietary omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on cerebrovascular endothelium-dependent responses in studies performed on isolated porcine basilar arteries. METHODS: Male Yorkshire pigs (6-8 weeks old) were kept for 4 weeks on a standard diet (control group, n = 12) or on chow supplemented with polyunsaturated fatty acids (eicosapentaenoic acid, 3.5 g/day, or docosahexaenoic acid, 1.5 g/day; treated group, n = 12). Isometric tension recording of the basilar artery was carried out and responses were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: The regimen resulted in a decrease in the plasma arachidonic acid level and an increase in eicosapentaenoic acid. Endothelium-dependent relaxations induced by bradykinin and adenosine diphosphate were augmented in the basilar arteries of the treated group. Incubation with indomethacin (10(-5) M) prevented the augmentation of the relaxations induced by bradykinin, but not those caused by adenosine diphosphate. The indomethacin- sensitive, endothelium-dependent contractions to arachidonic acid remained comparable in the two groups, indicating that the activity of cyclooxygenase was not affected by the diet. CONCLUSIONS: Dietary supplementation with omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids enhances endothelium-dependent relaxations in the basilar artery by two mechanisms: 1) replacement of endogenous arachidonic acid and suppression of the concomitant release of vasoconstrictor prostaglandins from the endothelium, and 2) enhancement of the release of endothelium-derived relaxing factor.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				D. Lopez, C. Caballero, J. Sanchez, P. Puig-Parellada, and M. T. Mitjavila Free radical production in aortic rings from rats fed a fish oil-rich diet Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol, June 1, 2001; 280(6): H2929 - H2935. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]