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British Journal of Pharmacology logoLink to British Journal of Pharmacology
. 1984 Aug;82(4):765–767. doi: 10.1111/j.1476-5381.1984.tb16472.x

The endothelium-dependent relaxation of rabbit aorta: effects of antioxidants and hydroxylated eicosatetraenoic acids.

U Förstermann, B Neufang
PMCID: PMC1986929  PMID: 6478109

Abstract

Acetylcholine (ACh) induced concentration-dependent relaxations of rabbit aortic strips precontracted with noradrenaline. The relaxations were abolished if the endothelium of the strips was disrupted. Three different antioxidants (butylated hydroxytoluene, dithiothreitol and alpha-tocopherol) reversed the endothelium-dependent vasodilation in a concentration-dependent manner. However, the antioxidant ascorbic acid did not alter the vasodilatation. The hydroxylated eicosatetraenoic acids 5-HETE, 12-HETE, 15-HETE and 5,12-diHETE had no effect on aortic strips under basal or induced tension. These results suggest, that (non-cyclo-oxygenase) oxidation processes, insensitive to the action of ascorbic acid, represent a crucial step in the endothelium-dependent dilatation of rabbit aorta by ACh. The hydroxylated fatty acids tested are unlikely to mediate this relaxation.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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