Histone Deacetylase Inhibition Attenuates Aortic Remodeling in Rats under Pressure Overload

Figure 2

Effects of MGCD on aortic ring contraction and relaxation in rats after TAC. Vascular contractile and relaxant responses were analyzed in the ascending (a–c) and descending (d–f) aortic rings. Phenylephrine (PE) was cumulatively added for vascular contraction in the aortic rings with intact endothelium (a, d) and acetylcholine (Ach) and sodium nitroprusside (SNP) for vasorelaxation in the aortic rings with intact (b, e) and denuded (c, f) endothelia, respectively. The tension developed is expressed as the percentage of maximal contraction to 50 mmol/L KCl, while the relaxation developed is expressed as the percentage of maximal contraction to PE. In the aortic rings with intact endothelium, there was a significant decrease in the relaxation response, and MGCD treatment considerably increased the relaxation response in TAC rats (b, e). Neither TAC nor MGCD affected aortic ring contraction (a, d) or relaxation without endothelium (c, f). Data are shown as of eight rats per group ( and vs. sham group, ^# and ^## vs. TAC group).

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