Effects of inhibition of nitric oxide synthase (nos) by aminoguanidine in acute endotoxemia. Hock, Carl E., Kingsley Yin, Gang Yue, and Patrick Y-K Wong. Departments of Medicine and Cell Biology, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, School of Osteopathic Medicine, Stratford, NJ 08084
APStracts 3:0353H, 1996.
Nitric oxide (NO) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of the circulatory dysfunction of endotoxin shock. We investigated the effect of aminoguanidine (AG), an inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) that is more selective for the inducible NOS (iNOS), on the circulatory and inflammatory sequelae following administration of a bolus (10 mg/kg, i.v.) of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) (salmonella enteritidis). Rats receiving LPS+Vehicle (LPS+VEH) exhibited a 73% decrease in mean arterial blood pressure (MABP) and a 50% decrease in cardiac index (CI) and SV index (SVI) within 10 min following LPS administration. MABP recovered to 64+/-3, 81+/-6 and 79+/-8 mmHg, at 60, 120 and 180 min post LPS, respectively. However, CI and SVI remained depressed by 40-50% for the entire experimental period. Systemic vascular resistance (SVRI), HR and hematocrit were significantly elevated at 180 min following LPS administration. There was a 15-fold increase in plasma nitrite/nitrate and significantly elevated tissue nitrite/nitrate in the lung, heart, liver and intestine after 3 hours of acute endotoxemia. Treatment with AG markedly decreased plasma nitrite/nitrate but did not alter the initial hypotension or cardiac depression. However, at 60 min following LPS administration the HR, MABP and SVRI were higher in the AG-treated rats compared to vehicle, while, CI and SVI remained depressed. Myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity was significantly increased in the lung but not in the other tissues following LPS. The AG infusion significantly reduced tissue nitrite/nitrate in the lung and heart when compared to LPS+VEH. The data suggest that neither NO nor acute inflammatory cell accumulation is solely responsible for the depressed cardiovascular function following i.v., administration of LPS.

Received 3 November 1995; accepted in final form 8 August 1994.
APS Manuscript Number H1031-5.
Article publication pending Am. J. Physiol. (Heart Circ. Physiology).
ISSN 1080-4757 Copyright 1996 The American Physiological Society.
Published in APStracts on 29 August 1996