Lüscher T F, Tanner F C, Dohi Y
Department of Medicine, University Hospital, Basel, Switzerland.
Pharmacol Toxicol. 1992 Jun;70(6 Pt 2):S32-9. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0773.1992.tb01620.x.
As a source of several vasoactive factors, the endothelium takes part in the regulation of vascular tone. The most important endothelium-derived vasoactive substances are nitric oxide, prostacyclin, endothelin-1 and contracting factors requiring the activity of cyclooxygenase. The endothelium is an obvious target organ of cardiovascular risk factors. Accordingly, functional alterations do occur with aging, hypertension and hypercholesterolaemia. All three conditions are associated with a decreased basal and simulated release of endothelium-derived nitric oxide. On the other hand, the release of endothelin-1 appears to increase with age, while the sensitivity to the peptide markedly decreases under the same conditions. In the spontaneously hypertensive rat, acetylcholine and stretch evoke the release of a cyclooxygenase-dependent endothelium-derived contracting factor, most likely prostaglandin H2. The circulating levels of endothelin-1 on the other hand are not increased in experimental and human hypertension. In the porcine coronary circulation, oxidized low-density lipoproteins selectively reduced endothelium-dependent relaxations to aggregating platelets, serotonin and thrombin which are mediated by nitric oxide. The alterations of endothelial function occurring with aging, hypertension and hypercholesterolaemia may have important clinical implications for the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease.
作为多种血管活性因子的来源，内皮参与血管张力的调节。最重要的内皮源性血管活性物质是一氧化氮、前列环素、内皮素-1以及需要环氧化酶活性的收缩因子。内皮是心血管危险因素的一个明显靶器官。因此，随着衰老、高血压和高胆固醇血症，内皮功能确实会发生改变。这三种情况均与内皮源性一氧化氮的基础释放和刺激释放减少有关。另一方面，内皮素-1的释放似乎随年龄增长而增加，而在相同条件下对该肽的敏感性则明显降低。在自发性高血压大鼠中，乙酰胆碱和牵张可诱发依赖环氧化酶的内皮源性收缩因子的释放，最可能是前列腺素H2。另一方面，在实验性高血压和人类高血压中，内皮素-1的循环水平并未升高。在猪冠状动脉循环中，氧化型低密度脂蛋白选择性地降低了由一氧化氮介导的对聚集血小板、5-羟色胺和凝血酶的内皮依赖性舒张。随着衰老、高血压和高胆固醇血症而发生的内皮功能改变可能对心血管疾病的发病机制具有重要的临床意义。
