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Nitric Oxide (NO) has been found for about 10 years and many studies indicate that NO is a potent vessel dilator and a major physiological regulator of basal blood vessel tone. The rats were put in an oxygen enriched (90% O2) environment for 2 days to know the effects of hyperoxia on the NO synthesis in the rat lungs and the role of NO involved in hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction. We used the isolated perfusion lung models with physiological salt solution (PSS) as perfusate and employed a NO meter to measure the NO changes. The pulmonary pressure was detected. In vitro, the whole blood or plasma from the hyperoxic rats (HOR) and normoxic rats (NOR) were added into the solution containing L-arginine (NO precuror; 0.05 M). The results showed that the NO response in the HOR was significantly higher than the NOR. In the isolated PSS perfused rat lungs, the release of the NO gained from the HOR was markedly higher than which gained from the NOR. After the conditions were stable, we added 1 mM L- arginine into the perfusate, and the NO response in the HOR was notedly higher than the NOR. When the NOS inhibitor, L-NAME, 1 mM was applied, the reverse of NO curve was prominently in the HOR than in the NOR. The hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction (HPV) response was blunted and hypoxic-induced NO synthesis was higher in the HOR. L-NAME 1mM was applied for 30 mins after the 1st hypoxic challenge, then the HPV response and NO synthesis in the 2nd hypoxic challenge between the two groups were similar. While we treated the HOR with dexamethasone (inducible NOS inhibitor) 10 mg/kg/day for 2 days, the HPV response restored to the normoxic condition. When the HOR pretreated with diltiazem (constitutive NOS inhibitor, 2 mg/kg/day for 2 days), the HPV response didn't restore to the normoxic condition. We suggest that NO synthase was activated under the hyperoxic condition, so that the HPV response was attenuated. Activation of inducible NOS in rat lungs might play a major role.
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