Plasma nitrite reserve and endothelial function in the human forearm circulation
Attenuation of endothelium-derived nitric oxide (NO) synthesis is a hallmark of endothelial dysfunction. Early detection of this disorder may have therapeutic and prognostic implications. Plasma nitrite mirrors acute and chronic changes in endothelial NO-synthase activity. We hypothesized that local...
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Published in | Free radical biology & medicine Vol. 41; no. 2; pp. 295 - 301 |
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Main Authors | , , , , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
United States
Elsevier Inc
15.07.2006
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Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Attenuation of endothelium-derived nitric oxide (NO) synthesis is a hallmark of endothelial dysfunction. Early detection of this disorder may have therapeutic and prognostic implications. Plasma nitrite mirrors acute and chronic changes in endothelial NO-synthase activity. We hypothesized that local plasma nitrite concentration increases during reactive hyperemia of the forearm, reflecting endothelial function. In healthy subjects (
n = 11) plasma nitrite and nitrate were determined at baseline and during reactive hyperemia of the forearm using reductive gas-phase chemiluminescence and flow-injection analysis, respectively. Endothelium-dependent dilation of the brachial artery was measured as flow-mediated dilation (FMD) using high-resolution ultrasound. Results were compared to patients with endothelial dysfunction as defined by reduced FMD (
n = 11). Reactive hyperemia of the forearm increased local plasma nitrite concentration from 68 ± 5 to 126 ± 13 nmol/L (
p < 0.01), whereas in endothelial dysfunction nitrite remained unaffected (116 ± 12 to 104 ± 10 nmol/L; n.s.), corresponding to nitrite reserves of 94 ± 21 and −8 ± 4%. This was accompanied by a significantly greater increase in brachial artery diameter (FMD: 8.5 ± 0.4% vs 2.9 ± 0.5%, for healthy subjects and endothelial dysfunction, respectively;
p < 0.001). This observation suggests that nitrite changes reflect endothelial function. Assessment of local plasma nitrite during reactive hyperemia may open new avenues in the diagnosis of vascular function. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 0891-5849 1873-4596 |
DOI: | 10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2006.04.006 |