Cyclooxygenase expression in splanchnic hyposensitivity to glypressin of bleeding portal hypertensive rats.

BACKGROUND

Prostacyclin mediates, at least partly, the splanchnic vascular hyporesponsiveness to glypressin in bleeding portal hypertensive rats. This study investigated the relative contribution of cyclooxygenase-1 (COX-1) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) in the splanchnic hyposensitivity to glypressin in rats with portal hypertension induced by partial portal vein ligation (PVL).

METHODS

Fourteen days after the operation, the rats were divided into without- and with-bleeding groups. Three series of PVL rats were used to investigate (i). the haemodynamic effects of glypressin (0.07 mg x kg(-1) intravenously), (ii). COX-1/COX-2 mRNA expression over abdominal aorta and superior mesenteric artery and (iii). plasma levels of 6-keto-prostaglandin-F1alpha. In rats with a hypotensive haemorrhage, 4.5 mL of blood was withdrawn and 50% of the withdrawn blood was re-infused before blood and vessel sampling or the administration of glypressin.

RESULTS

Splanchnic hyposensitivity to glypressin was demonstrated in the haemorrhage-transfused PVL rats with enhanced COX-1 expression of superior mesenteric artery and increased plasma levels of 6-keto-prostaglandin-F1alpha. There were no differences in the COX-2 expression of superior mesenteric artery and COX-1 and COX-2 expressions of abdominal aorta between without- and with-bleeding groups.

CONCLUSIONS

In portal hypertensive rats with acute haemorrhage, COX-1 over-expression in the superior mesenteric artery plays a role in mediating the splanchnic hyposensitivity to glypressin.