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(Stroke. 2005;36:2589.)
© 2005 American Heart Association, Inc.
Original Contributions |
From the Cardiovascular Research Center (D.Z., K.Y., C.Z., R.J.R., D.R.H.) Department of Physiology, Medical College of Wisconsin; and Clement Zablocki VA Medical Center (D.R.H.), Milwaukee, Wis.
Correspondence to David R. Harder, PhD, Medical College of Wisconsin, Department of Physiology, 8701 Watertown Plank Rd, Milwaukee, WI 53226. E-mail dharder{at}mcw.edu
| Abstract |
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Methods CBF was monitored with laser Doppler flowmetry during increases in blood pressure.
Results During the control period, CBF was well autoregulated after the increase in mean arterial pressure (MAP) from 98±3 to 140±6 mm Hg. The autoregulation index (AI;
CBF/
MAP) averaged 0.25±0.02 (n=6). O2· in the brain was then increased by subdural perfusion of xanthine/xanthine oxidase (different concentrations) and catalase. Low concentrations of O2· decreased basal CBF by 10±1.6% but had no effect on autoregulation (AI, 0.19±0.02; n=6). Higher concentrations of O2· (0.2 mmol/L xanthine and either 3 or 20 mU xanthine oxidase) increased basal CBF by 30±2% and 42±4%, respectively, and impaired autoregulation of CBF (AI, 0.55±0.03 and 0.76±0.02; n=6). Inclusion of superoxide dismutase in the O2·-generating system restored autoregulation (AI, 0.28±0.05; n=6). Neither inhibition of NO synthase nor the addition of deferioxamine had any effect on the ability of higher concentrations of O2· to impair autoregulation of CBF (AI, 0.65±0.07 and 0.72±0.05 respectively; n=6). O2· also increased the activity of KCa channels in cerebral vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs; n=8).
Conclusion These results suggest that O2· increases basal CBF and impairs autoregulation of CBF, likely through the activation of KCa channels in cerebral VSMCs.
Key Words: free radicals cerebral blood flow
| Introduction |
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| Materials and Methods |
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Surgical Preparation
Anesthesia was induced by using 4.5% isoflurane and maintained at 2.0% using a gas anesthesia mask for small rodents (model 51610; Stoelting). The femoral vessels were cannulated with polyethylene (PE, 50) tubing (Intramedic; Clay Adams) for intravenous infusion and measurement of arterial pressure. Body temperature was maintained at 37°C using a thermostatically regulated heated surgical table. The head was fixed in a stereotaxic apparatus (model 900; David Kopf), and the closed cranial window was made in the right parietal bone using a low-speed drill as described previously. Two small holes were drilled on the opposite sides of the cranial window, and PE-10 tubing (pulled to a diameter of
100 to 200 µm) was inserted under the dura and advanced to the border of the cranial window for subdural perfusion. The subdural space was perfused continuously with aCSF at a rate of 3 µL/min and inflow pressure averaged between 5 and 8 mm Hg. Composition of the aCSF was (in mmol/L): 2.9 KCl, 38 MgCl2, 1.99 CaCl2, 131.9 NaCl, 19 NaHCO3, 6.63 urea, and 3.69 glucose, with pH adjusted daily to 7.4. After surgery, the isoflurane anesthesia was withdrawn, and anesthesia was maintained by continuous intravenous infusion of
-chloralose (40 mg/kg; Sigma). Cortical microvascular blood flow was monitored with a laser Doppler flowmeter (PF3; Perimed) and a flow probe (PF316; Perimed).
Experimental Protocol
After surgery and a 30-minute equilibration period, CBF was monitored as arterial pressure was increased by increasing the rate of intravenous infusion of phenylephrine from 10 µg/mL per minute to 30 µg/mL per minute. Steady-state cortical blood flow was recorded over a 3-minute period after reaching a stable level of mean arterial pressure (MAP). After a control autoregulation curve was obtained, the infusion of phenylephrine was terminated and the subdural perfusion was switched to aCSF containing the O2·-generating system. After a 15-minute equilibration period, the experimental relationship between CBF and MAP was re-evaluated.
Autoregulation of CBF was also tested under the condition in which basal CBF was increased. In these experiments, rats were intubated, ventilated, and normobaric normocapnic hypoxia was used to increase CBF. Hypoxic conditions were achieved by decreasing oxygen concentration in the inspired mixture from 21% to 10% and confirmed by blood gas analysis in the arterial blood samples (0.07 mL; Stat Profile; Nova Biomedical). After 15 minutes of hypoxia, during which the increase of basal CBF stabilized, autoregulation of CBF was determined by increasing blood pressure with phenylephrine infusion.
Additional experiments were performed to determine the role of NO in mediating the effects of O2·. In these experiments, animals were pretreated by subdural perfusion of aCSF containing 50 µmol/L of N (omega)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) at a rate 3 µL/min for 45 minutes before perfusion with an O2·-generating system.
Generation of O2·
O2· was produced using a xanthine (0.2 mmol/L)/xanthine oxidase (XO; 0.2, 2, 3, and 20 mU/L) reaction. Components of generating system were dissolved in aCSF, and catalase (250 U/L) was added to prevent accumulation of hydrogen peroxide. The steady-state concentration of O2· generated by this system was measured, in vitro, by the reduction of ferricytochrome C (25 µmol/L horse heart type III; Sigma) in the presence and absence of superoxide dismutase (SOD; 150 U/mL; Sigma). Reduction of ferricytochrome C was determined spectrophotometrically at 550 nm (Beckman DU-640), and the concentration of O2· was calculated using a molar extinction coefficient (
) of 21 000.13
Dihydroethidine Staining
Dihydroethidine (DHE) was used to determine the distribution of O2· in the brain after superfusion with the generating system. In response to O2·, DHE is oxidized intracellularly to the fluorescent product ethidium bromide (EB+), which is membrane impermeable and trapped within the cell by intercalation with DNA.14,15 In these experiments, the brains of rats were superfused with aCSF containing the O2·-generating system for 15 minutes followed by superfusion of the brain with aCSF containing DHE (3 µmol/L) at a rate of 3 µL/min for 10 minutes. The brain was then quickly removed and frozen in liquid nitrogen. Frozen brains were sectioned on a cryostat, mounted, cover slipped, and examined using a Nikon E-600 microscope equipped with epifluorescence.
Measurement of NO Synthesis
NO synthase (NOS) activity in the brain was determined by measuring the conversion of L-[14C]-arginine to L-citrulline using reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography equipped with a radioactive flow detector as described previously.16,17 Comparisons of NOS activity were made between rats treated with L-NAME (50 µmol/L) and vehicle (aCSF).
Patch-Clamp Experiments
Vascular muscle cells were freshly isolated from middle cerebral arteries of rats as described previously.18 Membrane currents were recorded at room temperature using a GeneClamp 500 amplifier (Axon Instruments) and a Digidata 1200A analog-to-digital converter (Axon Instruments). Currents were recorded at 10-kHz bandwidth with a low-pass Bessel filter at 1 kHz. Data were analyzed using pCLAMP 6.0 software (Axon Instruments). Patch pipettes were pulled from borosilicate glass (No. 7052; Garner Glass) by use of a vertical puller (Narashige) and gently heat polished using a microforge (model MF-83, Narashige). The indifferent electrode was an Ag-AgCl plug connected to a bath chamber via a 140-mmol/L agar bridge. The effect of O2· on KCa channel current activity was examined using the cell-attached configuration and symmetrical K+ solutions (145 mmol/L). KCa channel current activity was compared in the presence and absence of O2· generated by adding xanthine and XO to the bath solution (final concentration 0.2 mmol/L xanthine and 20 mU XO).
Statistics
Mean values±SE are presented. Changes in baseline CBF are expressed as the percent change from control values. The autoregulatory capacity of cerebral vessels was expressed as an autoregulation index (AI,
CBF/
BP). Differences between groups were analyzed using ANOVA with Holm-Sidak post hoc test. A P value <0.05 was considered to be statistically significant.
| Results |
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Because O2· significantly increased basal CBF, we determined autoregulation of CBF, in which a similar increase in basal CBF was induced by hypoxia. Hypoxic conditions were confirmed by blood gas analysis (control pH 7.41±0.01, PO2 98.5±4.4, PCO2 33±0.03; hypoxia pH 7.44±0.01, PO2 40.4±4, PCO2 29±0.02). Hypoxia increased basal CBF by 38±7%; however, increasing blood pressure under hypoxic conditions resulted in no further increase in CBF (control AI, 0.11±0.01; hypoxia AI, 0.08±0.03; n=6; Figure 3A and 3B).
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Other experiments were performed to determine whether blocking the synthesis of NO affects the ability of O2· to impair autoregulation of CBF. NOS activity in the brain was inhibited by perfusion of the subdural space with aCSF containing the nonselective inhibitor L-NAME (50 µmol/L). The ability of L-NAME to inhibit NOS activity was confirmed by an 88±7% reduction of the conversion of L-[14C]-arginine to L-citrulline in the homogenized brain tissue (data not shown). Superfusion of the brain with L-NAME decreased basal CBF by 18±2% (n=6; data not shown) and blocked the effect of the low concentration of O2· (0.2 mmol/L xanthine and 0.2 mU XO) on basal CBF. In addition, L-NAME significantly enhanced autoregulation of CBF compared with control conditions (AI, 0.13±0.01; Figure 4B). In contrast, L-NAME did not alter the ability of a higher concentration of O2· to increase basal CBF and impair autoregulation. In animals pretreated with L-NAME, higher concentrations of O2· (0.2 mmol/L xanthine and 20 mU XO) still raised basal CBF by 63±6% and impaired autoregulation of CBF (AI, 0.65±0.07; n=6; Figure 4A and 4B).
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To determine the role of hydroxy (OH · ) radical in mediating the effects of O2· on basal CBF and autoregulation, we examined the effect of adding the iron chelator deferioxamine (DFX) to the O2·-generating system. The effects of O2· on basal CBF and autoregulation were not altered by addition of 1 mmol/L of DFX to perfusate solution. Under these conditions, basal CBF increased by 39±9%, and the AI averaged 0.72±0.05 (n=4; data not shown).
Measurement of O2· Production
The steady-state concentration of O2· produced by the generating system was measured in vitro by the reduction of cytochrome C. The results indicate that the production of O2· from the generating system was well correlated with the concentration of XO (data not shown).
DHE Staining
The results of these experiments are presented in Figure 5. Under control conditions (aCSF perfusion), there is some EB+ fluorescence, which most likely represents endogenously produced O2· (Figure 5A). Superfusion of the brain with low concentration of O2· had no effect on the intensity of EB+ staining (Figure 5B), suggesting that at this concentration, O2· most likely remains in the extracellular space. In contrast, superfusion of the brain with a higher concentration of O2· markedly increased the fluorescence intensity (Figure 5C). This response was abolished by the addition of cell-impermeable SOD to the perfusate solution (Figure 5D), suggesting that the observed changes were attributable to diffusion of extracellularly generated O2·. Figure 5E and 5F depict the cerebral arterioles stained with DHE after exposure to low (Figure 5E) and high (Figure 5F) concentration of O2·.
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Electrophysiology
The effect of O2· on KCa channel current activity in cerebral smooth muscle cells was examined using a cell-attached configuration of the patch-clamp technique. Comparisons of the current activity were made before and after addition of the O2·-generating system to the bath. The addition of the O2·-generating system to the bath solution significantly increased KCa channel current activity (Figure 6A). The mean open state probability of the channel increased up to 5-fold (Figure 6B). The opening frequency of the channel was not affected by an inactive generating system (boiled XO).
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| Discussion |
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The opposite effects of different concentrations of O2· on CBF in our experiments are very likely attributable to the presence of O2· in different tissue compartments. By crossing the cell membrane, O2· is capable of reacting and modifying a number of transmembrane and intracellular proteins that affect cellular responses. In this regard, recent studies have indicated that KCa channels play an important role in the regulation of basal CBF and autoregulation of CBF.2224 Furthermore, the ß-regulatory subunit of this channel is highly redox sensitive, making it an attractive target for modulation by ROS.25 This led us to examine the effects of O2· on the activity of KCa channels in cerebral VSMCs. Our results indicate that O2· markedly increases the open probability of KCa channels. This would be expected to hyperpolarize VSMCs and reduce the activity of voltage-gated Ca2+ channels, which are crucial for influx of Ca2+ and the maintenance of vascular tone.26 The effects of O2· on KCa channels activity in vitro are also consistent with our observation that superfusion of the brain with the higher concentration of O2· increases basal CBF and impaired autoregulation of CBF.
In conclusion, the results of the present study indicate that the effects of O2· on basal CBF and autoregulation are concentration dependent. Increased amounts of O2· in the extracellular space decreased basal CBF, likely by scavenging NO. In contrast, superfusion of the brain with higher concentrations of O2· that also increased intracellular levels of O2· in the brain dilated cerebral arteries and impaired autoregulation of CBF by the mechanism that might involve activation of KCa channels in VSMCs.
| Acknowledgments |
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Received May 10, 2005; revision received August 17, 2005; accepted August 18, 2005.
| References |
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