Endothelium-dependent relaxation of the pig aorta: relationship to stimulation of 86Rb efflux from isolated endothelial cells.

Bradykinin, adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and acetylcholine each relaxed histamine-contracted strips of pig aorta in a dose-dependent manner. These relaxations were abolished when the endothelium was removed. Relaxation induced by ATP was mimicked by adenosine diphosphate (ADP) but adenosine monophosphate (AMP) and adenosine were about 120 times less potent. Relaxation induced by acetylcholine was antagonized by atropine in a competitive manner, and carbachol induced the same degree of relaxation as acetylcholine, but was about 10 times less potent. The calcium ionophore, A23187, also induced a dose-dependent relaxation of pig aortic strips provided the endothelium was present, suggesting that a rise in the level of ionized calcium within the endothelial cells is one means by which vascular smooth muscle relaxation can be triggered. Bradykinin, ATP, ADP, AMP, adenosine and A23187 each induced a dose-dependent increase in 86Rb efflux from preloaded pig aortic endothelial cells. The dose-response curves for stimulation of 86Rb efflux and for endothelium-dependent relaxation were similar for each individual compound. ADP was equipotent with ATP, but AMP and adenosine were about 120 times less potent. Neither acetylcholine nor carbachol, in concentrations that induce endothelium-dependent relaxation, had any effect on 86Rb efflux from isolated aortic endothelial cells. Lanthanum, which blocks calcium influx, abolished the increases in 86Rb efflux induced by bradykinin and ATP, and the calcium ionophore A23187 was the most effective stimulant of 86Rb efflux, suggesting that the potassium transport induced by these agents is calcium-activated. It is concluded that endothelial responses to bradykinin and ATP can be assessed by monitoring 86Rb efflux, which probably reflects a calcium-activated efflux of potassium associated with the endothelium-dependent vascular relaxation induced by these agents. This pathway is apparently not involved in endothelial responses to acetylcholine.