This study was performed to assess the potential role of polyamines in the alterations in vascular structure and function in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). The effects of chronic administration of eflornithine (alpha-difluoromethylornithine; DFMO), a highly specific inhibitor of ornithine decarboxylase (the rate limiting enzyme in polyamine biosynthesis), on vascular polyamine contents, vascular structure and function, and blood pressure was studied. Male SHR (16-17 weeks of age) with an average systolic blood pressure (SBP) of 161 +/- 3 mmHg were used. The rats were divided into two groups and received either tap water or a 1% DFMO solution to drink for 6 weeks. SBP and body weight were recorded prior to and once-a-week during the experiment. Standard in vitro vascular reactivity studies on ring segments of aorta and tail artery were performed. Ring segment weight, arterial medial thickness, and vascular polyamine contents were also determined. Body weights were not significantly affected by the DFMO treatment. SBP in control SHR rose progressively to an average value of 185 +/- 5 mmHg by the sixth experimental week. Although DFMO treatment did not cause a significant decrease in SBP compared to pretreatment values, it did prevent a further increase in SBP. Aortic and tail artery responsiveness to norepinephrine and electrical stimulation, respectively, ring segment weight, arterial medial thickness, and vascular polyamine contents were all significantly less in SHR receiving the DFMO treatment. These data are the first to demonstrate the effectiveness of DFMO to lower polyamine contents in the vasculature of hypertensive SHR.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

This study was performed to determine if an alteration in vascular polyamine contents is associated with the development of deoxycorticosterone acetate-salt hypertension. The effects of chronic administration of alpha-difluoromethylornithine, a specific irreversible inhibitor of ornithine decarboxylase and thus polyamine biosynthesis, on vascular polyamine contents, structure, and function as well as the development of hypertension was studied. Control and deoxycorticosterone acetate-salt rats received either tap water or a drinking solution containing alpha-difluoromethylornithine for 6 weeks, during which period systolic blood pressures were recorded. Vascular reactivity studies were performed on rings of aorta and tail artery. Medial thickness, vessel weight, and vascular polyamine contents were also assessed in these arteries. alpha-difluoromethylornithine treatment had no significant effect on either systolic blood pressure or vascular structure, function, and polyamine contents of control animals. The elevation in blood pressure and the increase in medial thickness, ring weight, and vascular polyamine contents as well as altered vascular reactivity observed in deoxycorticosterone acetate-salt rats was significantly attenuated by alpha-difluoromethylornithine treatment. These results are the first to demonstrate that vascular polyamine contents are elevated in the deoxycorticosterone acetate-salt rat and that chronic alpha-difluoromethylornithine treatment prevents the rise in vascular polyamines as well as the elevation in blood pressure and attendant changes in the vasculature. Thus, the increase in vascular polyamines may comprise a critical link between the initiating stimuli and the alterations in vascular structure and function implicated in the pathogenesis of deoxycorticosterone acetate-salt hypertension.

The hepatic cyclic nucleotide system and hepatic monooxygenase activity were examined in male rats following intramuscular or subcutaneous Walker 256 carcinosarcoma transplantation. Twelve days of continuous s.c. tumor growth significantly increased hepatic cyclic AMP levels, while levels of cyclic GMP, cytochrome P-450, cytochrome b-5, and p-chloro-N-methylaniline metabolism were significantly decreased. Whole blood from 6 day i.m. tumor-bearing rats incubated with liver slices obtained from non-tumor-bearing rats produced significantly elevated hepatic cyclic AMP levels concurrent with significantly depressed hepatic p-chloro-N-methylaniline metabolism. The chronological monitoring of tumor growth demonstrated a close temporal relationship between decreased cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase activity, microsomal metabolism of p-chloro-N-methylaniline, and the mixed-function oxidase system. Significant changes in these hepatic enzyme systems occurred as early as 17 hours following tumor transplantation. At this same time, sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis revealed the appearance of a 184,000 molecular weight protein in hepatic tissue from all tumor-bearing rats. These studies are compatible with the proposal that the hepatic cyclic AMP system may modulate toxohormone effects on hepatic drug biotransformation.

A cascade of events leading to hypertrophy has been proposed and implicated in growth regulation in a variety of normal and neoplastic cells and tissues. There is a tightly coupled temporal sequence: (a) cyclic adenosine 3':5'-monophosphate-dependent protein kinase (cAPK) activation; (b) ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) induction; and (c) the accumulation of the organic cation, spermidine, resulting in an increased spermidine/spermine ratio characteristic of both normal and neoplastic growth. The specific activation of type I cAPK has been implicated to ODC induction, and the amounts of type I and type II cAPK alter as a function of growth and transformation. Therefore, we wished to study the alterations in these biochemical parameters as well as that of a putative marker of preneoplastic hepatocytes, gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase, in a rapid multistep hepatocarcinogenesis system. We found a marked and prolonged increase in the cAPK ratio followed by a similar pattern of ODC induction after a single carcinogenic dose of diethylnitrosamine and again in response to partial hepatectomy. Liver foci were detectable within four days of partial hepatectomy in animals that received the entire carcinogen regimen, and the foci contained significant and increasing amounts of gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase activity. The increase in ODC activity was followed closely by an increased spermidine/spermine ratio. Total type I activity in the cytosol decreased most dramatically at the time of foci formation, suggestive of selective activation and turnover. These data suggest that the prolonged activation of cAPK and elevation of ODC may be necessary for hepatocarcinogenesis.

Three behavioral tests, spontaneous locomotor activity (SLMA), exploratory behavior (EB) and rotarod performance (RP), a measure of neuromuscular coordination, were used to stuey the interaction of PGE1 (1 mg/kg i.p., 10 min. pretreatment) with DBcAMP (25 mg/kg i.p., 25 min. pretreatment) in mice. A dose-response relationship of PGE1 (0.01-5.0 mg/kg) to SLMA was determined, with a significant decrease in SLMA produced by a dose of 0.1 mg/kg. decreases in SLMA were produced by PGE1 (79%), DBcAMP (41%) and DBcAMP-PGE1 combination (71%). Similar decreases in EB were observed. Although no significant difference between controls and DBcAMP was observed in RP, 52% of mice tested were RP failures following PGE1 and a 100% failure rate was induced by the combination. Mice were treated with a second injection of DBcAMP or PGE1 or the combination 24 hr following the first injection. Behavioral activity of these mice was observed 25 min (DBcAMP) or 10 min (PGE1) after the second dose was administered. A second injection of DBcAMP failed to decrease SLMA and EB from controls; moreover, SLMA began to return towards control levels as early as 2 hr between injections. The second injection of PGE1 or DBcAMP+PGE1 produced the same behavior as that produced by the first injection. On the basis of these results, the relationship of cyclic nucleotides and PGs to behavioral activity is discussed.

Dibutyryl cyclic adenosine 3′,5′-monophosphate (DBcAMP), 25 mg/kg, administered intraperitoneally 25 minutes prior to testing produced a significant decrease in spontaneous locomotor activity (SLMA) to 58 percent of control and in exploratory behavior to 64 percent of control but failed to alter rotarod performance of mice. DBcAMP did not decrease activity when mice were pretreated with the nucleotide 24 hours prior to its subsequent administration. The results of time-response studies of DBcAMP and SLMA showed that the effects were present as early as 2 minutes after administration and persisted for approximately 90 minutes. Dose-response experiments showed a significant decrease in SLMA with 10 mg/kg and an 86 percent decrease with 75 mg/kg. The results suggest that DBcAMP acts centrally to alter several behavioral patterns in mice and that tolerance rapidly develops to its effects.