FIG. 1.
Effects of antiretroviral treatment on endothelium-dependent vasorelaxation. Aortic ring relaxation was determined as the percent relaxation to increasing concentrations of Ach, after precontraction with 10−7M phenylephrine. (A) As revealed by two-way ANOVA with repeated measures, AZT treatment (□) for 5 days significantly impaired endothelium-dependent vessel relaxation compared with the controls (○; p < 0.05). Coadministration of 1 mg/kg MnTMPyP (▪) attenuated the AZT-induced endothelial dysfunction (p < 0.05). (B) Indinavir (IDV) treatment (□) for 5 days did not alter endothelium-dependent vessel relaxation compared with controls (○). (C) AZT + IDV (□) significantly impaired endothelium-dependent relaxation (p < 0.05) compared with controls (○), and the MnTMPyP coadministration (▪) attenuated this effect (p < 0.05). In addition, endothelium-dependent vasorelaxation measured after treatment with AZT + IDV was significantly decreased compared with treatment with AZT treatment alone (p < 0.001).