Silencing salusin-? attenuates cardiovascular remodeling and hypertension in spontaneously hypertensive rats.

ABSTRACT: Salusin-? is a bioactive peptide involved in vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation, vascular fibrosis and hypertension. The present study was designed to determine the effects of silencing salusin-? on hypertension and cardiovascular remodeling in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). Thirteen-week-old male SHR and normotensive Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKY) were subjected to intravenous injection of PBS, adenoviral vectors encoding salusin-? shRNA (Ad-Sal-shRNA) or a scramble shRNA. Salusin-? levels in plasma, myocardium and mesenteric artery were increased in SHR. Silencing salusin-? had no significant effect on blood pressure in WKY, but reduced blood pressure in SHR. It reduced the ratio of left ventricle weight to body weight, cross-sectional areas of cardiocytes and perivascular fibrosis, and decreased the media thickness and the media/lumen ratio of arteries in SHR. Silencing salusin-? almost normalized plasma norepinephrine and angiotensin II levels in SHR. It prevented the upregulation of angiotensin II and AT₁ receptors, and reduced the NAD(P)H oxidase activity and superoxide anion levels in myocardium and mesenteric artery of SHR. Knockdown of salusin-? attenuated cell proliferation and fibrosis in vascular smooth muscle cells from SHR. These results indicate that silencing salusin-? attenuates hypertension and cardiovascular remodeling in SHR.

SUBMITTER: Ren XS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5322393 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature