Gene delivery of endothelial nitric oxide synthase into nucleus tractus solitarii induces biphasic response in cardiovascular functions of hypertensive rats (original) (raw)

Nitric oxide (NO) plays an important role in central control of blood pressure (BP). An intrinsic defect in NO availability in brain nucleus contributes to the elevated BP in the spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). This study was aimed to investigate the effect of endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) gene delivery in the nucleus tractus solitarii (NTS) on the cardiovascular functions of SHR. Adenovirus vectors encoding either eNOS (Ad-eNOS) or green fluorescent protein (Ad-GFP) were used for gene transfer study. The cardiovascular functions in SHR received NTS gene delivery that were monitored by an oscillometric device. Infection of neuronal cells with Ad-eNOS increased the nitrite production but decreased the level of superoxide anion (O(2)(-)), indicating that eNOS gene delivery increased NO availability. After microinjection into NTS, adenovirus-mediated GFP or eNOS expression was confirmed by fluorescence microscopy and immunohistochemical analysis. On days 3 to 14 after injection...