Age-Related Alterations in Endothelial Function of Femoral Artery in Young SHR and WKY Rats
Figure 4
Vascular responses to acetylcholine (ACh) in isolated femoral arteries of 7- and 22-week-old Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) in the presence of nitric oxide (NO) synthase inhibitor -nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME, 300 μmol/L). Age-related effect on endothelium-dependent L-NAME-resistant relaxations in (a) 7- and 22-week-old WKY and (b) 7- and 22-week-old SHR. Differences between normotensive and hypertensive rats in (c) 7-week-old and (d) 22-week-old rats. Values represent mean ± SEM of 6–8 rats. SHR-7: 7-week-old SHR; SHR-22: 22-week-old SHR; WKY-7: 7-week-old WKY rats; WKY-22: 22-week-old WKY rats. Symbols have the following meanings: compared to age-matched WKY (SHR-7 versus WKY-7, SHR-22 versus WKY-22), compared to juvenile rats (WKY-22 versus WKY-7, SHR-22 versus SHR-7), and compared to maximal relaxation at ACh concentrations 0.3 or 1 μmol/L (a, b, c, d)—significance indicating release of counterbalancing vasocontractile factors in hypertensive animals and in L-NAME-treated femoral arteries from juvenile WKY and juvenile and young adult SHR.
