Does a general alteration in nitric oxide synthesis system occur in spontaneously hypertensive rats?

Immune dysfunction has been reported in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). The current study investigated interactions between macrophages or vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) and lymphocytes in SHR and examined the role of nitric oxide (NO) in this interaction. SHR macrophages significantly inhibited the proliferation of lymphocytes from SHR and the genetic control, Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKY). This inhibition was reversed by a NO synthase inhibitor, NG-monomethyl-L-arginine (L-NMMA). SHR VSMC also significantly inhibited the proliferation responses of lymphocytes from SHR and WKY. The inhibition was cell density dependent. In addition, L-NMMA fully reversed the inhibition by SHR VSMC. Upon stimulation, the macrophages and VSMC from SHR produced a significantly higher amount of NO compared with those from WKY. These results suggest that the overproduction of NO was involved in the interaction between macrophages or VSMC and lymphocytes in SHR. Increased NO synthase activity in macrophages and VSMC may indicate a general activation of the NO synthesis system in SHR. The alteration of the NO synthesis system may be an important factor contributing to the lymphocyte depression in hypertension.