The effect of hypertension on serum nitric oxide and vascular endothelial growth factor concentrations. A study in DOCA-Salt hypertensive ovariectomized rats.

CardioVascular Disease (CVD) accounts for considerable mortality and morbidity in developed countries. Most of the common forms of CVD, such as hypertension, are caused by functional and structural changes in endothelial function. This study was designed to study the effect of hypertension on serum Nitric Oxide (NO) and Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) concentrations in DOCA-Salt hypertensive ovariectomized rats. Thirty female rats were ovariectomized. Blood samples were taken and the animals were divided into hypertensive and control groups. Hypertension was induced by DOCA-Salt method. DOCA was injected 30 mg/kg of body weight subcutaneously, twice a week with NaCl 1% instead of tap water for drinking throughout the experiment. The control group received normal saline injection with usual drinking water. Results showed that serum NO concentration in DOCA-Salt hypertensive rats was lower than the control group (18.35 +/- 5.31, 45.01 +/- 12.54 micromol/l, respectively) (p < 0.05). Also, the mean serum VEGF concentration was raised after induced hypertension (120.55 +/- 8.11 vs. 88.58 +/- 2.24 pg/ml) (p < 0.05). In conclusion, reduced serum NO and increased serum VEGF concentrations in hypertensive animals support the concept of endothelial dysfunction in hypertensive subjects.