Hypertension is one of the most prevalent diseases worldwide and can cause harmful complications within the vascular system. Further research on vascular responsiveness to different ligands and diverse receptors in various arteries is required to understand the mechanisms underlying the development of these vascular complications. Here, we investigated the vasorelaxant effect of the protease-activated receptor 2 (PAR2) agonist 2-furoyl-LIGRLO-amide (2-Fly) and two commonest agents, namely endothelium-dependent dilator acetylcholine (ACh) and endothelium-independent dilator sodium nitroprusside (SNP), on the thoracic aorta isolated from aged spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) (age, 52±1 weeks). The effects of these agents were compared between aortas isolated from SHR and age-matched normotensive Wistar Kyoto (WKY) rats. Compared with the WKY group, in the SHR group, 2-Fly-induced relaxation was impaired, ACh-induced relaxation was slightly decreased at low concentrations, and SNP-induced relaxation was similar. In addition, 2-Fly-induced aortic relaxation was largely decreased by a PAR2 antagonist (FSLLRY), endothelial denudation, and a nitric oxide (NO) synthase inhibitor NG-nitro-L-arginine (L-NNA) but not by an Akt inhibitor. These results suggested that PAR2-induced relaxations of aortas of aged SHR was impaired, and this impaired aortic relaxation may be attributed to decreased NO bioavailability rather than altered NO sensitivity unrelated to the Akt activity.
Keywords: aorta; endothelium; hypertension; protease-activated receptor 2 (PAR2); relaxation.