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Research
Reactive oxygen species are involved in regulating α1-adrenoceptor-activated vascular smooth muscle contraction
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* Corresponding author: Meei J Jiang mjiang@mail.ncku.edu.tw
1 Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 70101, Taiwan
2 Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 70101, Taiwan
3 Cardiovascular Research Center, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 70101, Taiwan
Journal of Biomedical Science 2010, 17:67 doi:10.1186/1423-0127-17-67
Published: 23 August 2010Abstract
Background
Reactive oxygen species (ROS) were shown to mediate aberrant contractility in hypertension, yet the physiological roles of ROS in vascular smooth muscle contraction have remained elusive. This study aimed to examine whether ROS regulate α1-adrenoceptor-activated contraction by altering myosin phosphatase activities.
Methods
Using endothelium-denuded rat tail artery (RTA) strips, effects of anti-oxidants on isometric force, ROS production, phosphorylation of the 20-kDa myosin light chain (MLC20), and myosin phosphatase stimulated by α1-adrenoceptor agonist phenylephrine were examined.
Results
An antioxidant, N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC), and two NADPH oxidase inhibitors, apocynin and VAS2870, dose-dependently inhibited contraction activated by phenylephrine. Phenylephrine stimulated superoxide anion production that was diminished by the pretreatment of apocynin, VAS2870, superoxide scavenger tiron or mitochondria inhibitor rotenone, but not by xanthine oxidase inhibitor allopurinol or cyclooxygenase inhibitor indomethacin. Concurrently, NADPH oxidase activity in RTA homogenates increased within 1 min upon phenylephrine stimulation, sustained for 10 min, and was abolished by the co-treatment with apocynin, but not allopurinol or rotenone. Phenylephrine-induced MLC20 phosphorylation was dose-dependently decreased by apocynin. Furthermore, apocynin inhibited phenylephrine-stimulated RhoA translocation to plasma membrane and phosphorylation of both myosin phosphatase regulatory subunit MYPT1Thr855 and myosin phosphatase inhibitor CPI-17Thr38.
Conclusions
ROS, probably derived from NADPH oxidase and mitochondria, partially regulate α1-adrenoceptor-activated smooth muscle contraction by altering myosin phosphatase-mediated MLC20 phosphorylation through both RhoA/Rho kinase- and CPI-17-dependent pathways.