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Singapore Medical Journal May 2016A 16-year-old Chinese male patient presented with constipation lasting five days, colicky abdominal pain, lethargy, weakness and body aches. He was able to pass flatus....
A 16-year-old Chinese male patient presented with constipation lasting five days, colicky abdominal pain, lethargy, weakness and body aches. He was able to pass flatus. Abdominal radiography showed a distended stomach causing inferior displacement of the transverse colon. Computed tomography revealed a dilated oesophagus, stomach and duodenum up to its third portion, with a short aortomesenteric distance and narrow angle. There was also consolidation in the lungs bilaterally. Based on the constellation of clinical and imaging findings, a diagnosis of superior mesenteric artery syndrome complicated by aspiration pneumonia was made. The patient was subsequently started on intravenous hydration, nasogastric tube aspiration and antibiotics. Following stabilisation of his acute condition, a nasojejunal feeding tube was inserted and a feeding plan was implemented to promote weight gain. The clinical presentation, differentials, diagnosis and treatment of superior mesenteric artery syndrome are discussed.
Topics: Adolescent; Aged; Child; China; Duodenum; Enteral Nutrition; Fluoroscopy; Gastrointestinal Tract; Humans; Male; Mesenteric Arteries; Pneumonia, Aspiration; Radiography, Abdominal; Superior Mesenteric Artery Syndrome; Syndrome; Tomography, X-Ray Computed; Vomiting
PubMed: 27212130
DOI: 10.11622/smedj.2016093 -
British Journal of Pharmacology Jun 2015Lysophosphatidylinositol (LPI), a lipid signalling molecule, activates GPR55 and elevates intracellular Ca(2+). Here, we examine the actions of LPI in the rat resistance...
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Lysophosphatidylinositol (LPI), a lipid signalling molecule, activates GPR55 and elevates intracellular Ca(2+). Here, we examine the actions of LPI in the rat resistance mesenteric artery and Ca(2+) responses in endothelial cells isolated from the artery.
EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH
Vascular responses were studied using wire myographs. Single-cell fluorescence imaging was performed using a MetaFluor system. Hypotensive effects of LPI were assessed using a Biopac system.
KEY RESULTS
In isolated arteries, LPI-induced vasorelaxation was concentration- and endothelium-dependent and inhibited by CID 16020046, a GPR55 antagonist. The CB1 receptor antagonist AM 251 had no effect, whereas rimonabant and O-1918 significantly potentiated LPI responses. Vasorelaxation was reduced by charybdotoxin and iberiotoxin, alone or combined. LPI decreased systemic arterial pressure. GPR55 is expressed in rat mesenteric artery. LPI caused biphasic elevations of endothelial cell intracellular Ca(2+). Pretreatment with thapsigargin or 2-aminoethoxydiphenyl borate abolished both phases. The PLC inhibitor U73122 attenuated the initial phase and enhanced the second phase, whereas the Rho-associated kinase inhibitor Y-27632 abolished the late phase but not the early phase.
CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS
LPI is an endothelium-dependent vasodilator in the rat small mesenteric artery and a hypotensive agent. The vascular response involves activation of Ca(2+)-sensitive K(+) channels and is not mediated by CB1 receptors, but unexpectedly enhanced by antagonists of the 'endothelial anandamide' receptor. In endothelial cells, LPI utilizes PLC-IP3 and perhaps ROCK-RhoA pathways to elevate intracellular Ca(2+). Overall, these findings support an endothelial site of action for LPI and suggest a possible role for GPR55 in vasculature.
Topics: Animals; Calcium; Endothelial Cells; Estrenes; Inositol 1,4,5-Trisphosphate; Lysophospholipids; Male; Mesenteric Arteries; Pyrrolidinones; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Receptors, Cannabinoid; Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled; Type C Phospholipases; Vasodilator Agents
PubMed: 25652040
DOI: 10.1111/bph.13107 -
British Journal of Pharmacology Jul 2015Eugenol, a vanilloid molecule found in some dietary plants, relaxes vasculature in part via an endothelium-dependent process; however, the mechanisms involved are...
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Eugenol, a vanilloid molecule found in some dietary plants, relaxes vasculature in part via an endothelium-dependent process; however, the mechanisms involved are unclear. Here, we investigated the endothelial cell-mediated mechanism by which eugenol modulates rat mesenteric artery contractility and systemic BP.
EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH
The isometric tension of rat mesenteric arteries (size 200-300 μm) was measured using wire myography; non-selective cation currents (ICat ) were recorded in endothelial cells using patch clamp electrophysiology. Mean arterial pressure (MAP) and heart rate (HR) were determined in anaesthetized rats.
KEY RESULTS
Eugenol relaxed endothelium-intact arteries in a concentration-dependent manner and this effect was attenuated by endothelium denudation. L-NAME, a NOS inhibitor, a combination of TRAM-34 and apamin, selective blockers of intermediate and small conductance Ca(2+) -activated K(+) channels, respectively, and HC-067047, a TRPV4 channel inhibitor, but not indomethacin, a COX inhibitor, reduced eugenol-induced relaxation in endothelium-intact arteries. Eugenol activated HC-067047-sensitive ICat in mesenteric artery endothelial cells. Short interfering RNA (siRNA)-mediated TRPV4 knockdown abolished eugenol-induced ICat activation. An i.v. injection of eugenol caused an immediate, transient reduction in both MAP and HR, which was followed by prolonged, sustained hypotension in anaesthetized rats. This sustained hypotension was blocked by HC-067047.
CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS
Eugenol activates TRPV4 channels in mesenteric artery endothelial cells, leading to vasorelaxation, and reduces systemic BP in vivo. Eugenol may be therapeutically useful as an antihypertensive agent and is a viable molecular candidate from which to develop second-generation TRPV4 channel activators that reduce BP.
Topics: Animals; Blood Pressure; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Endothelial Cells; Eugenol; Male; Mesenteric Arteries; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Structure-Activity Relationship; TRPV Cation Channels; Vasodilation
PubMed: 25832173
DOI: 10.1111/bph.13156 -
Canine mesenteric artery and vein convey no difference in the content of major contractile proteins.BMC Physiology Nov 2002Mesenteric arteries and veins are composed of tonic smooth muscles and serve distinct functions in the peripheral circulation. However, the basis for the functional... (Comparative Study)
Comparative Study
BACKGROUND
Mesenteric arteries and veins are composed of tonic smooth muscles and serve distinct functions in the peripheral circulation. However, the basis for the functional disparity of the resistive and capacitative parts of the mesenteric circulation is poorly understood. We studied potential differences in the expression levels of six contractile proteins in secondary and tertiary branches of the inferior mesenteric artery and vein along with differences in the vessel wall morphology.
RESULTS
Bright field and electron microscopy showed that both vessel walls had the same major structural elements. The arterial walls, however, had greater number, and more tightly assembled, smooth muscle cell layers compared to vein walls. The content of actin, myosin heavy chain, myosin light chain, and calponin was similar in the two blood vessels. The artery expressed higher amount of the actin-binding protein caldesmon than the vein (41.86 +/- 2.33 and 30.13 +/- 3.37 microg/mg respectively, n = 12). Although the total tropomyosin content was almost identical in both blood vessels, the alpha isoform dominated in the artery, while the beta isoform prevailed in the vein.
CONCLUSIONS
Canine mesenteric artery and vein differ in vessel wall morphology but do not convey differences in the expression levels of actin, myosin light chain, myosin heavy chain and calponin. The two vascular networks express distinct amounts of caldesmon and tropomyosin, which might contribute to the fine tuning of the contractile machinery in a manner consistent with the physiological functions of the two vascular networks.
Topics: Actins; Animals; Calcium-Binding Proteins; Calmodulin-Binding Proteins; Contractile Proteins; Dogs; Female; Male; Mesenteric Arteries; Microfilament Proteins; Molecular Weight; Muscle Proteins; Muscle, Smooth, Vascular; Myosin Heavy Chains; Myosin Light Chains; Protein Isoforms; Tropomyosin; Veins; Calponins
PubMed: 12445326
DOI: 10.1186/1472-6793-2-17 -
European Journal of Medical Research Aug 2018Ischemia of intestinal organs is a main cause of complications in surgical intensive care patients. Changes in the tonus of arteries contributing to vascular resistance...
BACKGROUND
Ischemia of intestinal organs is a main cause of complications in surgical intensive care patients. Changes in the tonus of arteries contributing to vascular resistance play an important role in the determination of blood flow and thus oxygen supply of various abdominal organs. It is generally acknowledged that hypoxia itself is able to alter arterial tonus and thus blood flow.
METHODS
The present study compared the effects of various degrees of hypoxia on second-order mesenteric arteries from male C57BL/6J mice. After vessel isolation and preparation, we assessed vessel diameter using an arteriograph perfusion chamber. Investigating mechanisms promoting hypoxia-induced vasodilatation, we performed experiments in Ca-containing and Ca-free solutions, and furthermore, Ca-influx was inhibited by NiCl, eNOS-, and TASK1-mice were investigated too.
RESULTS
Mild hypoxia 14.4% O induced, in 50% of mesenteric artery segments from wild-type (wt) mice, a vasodilatation; severe hypoxia recruited further segments responding with vasodilatation reaching 80% under anoxia. However, the extension of dilatation of luminal arterial diameter reduced from 1.96% ± 0.55 at 14.4% O to 0.68% ± 0.13 under anoxia. Arteries exposed to hypoxia in Ca-free solution responded to lower oxygen levels with increasing degree of vasodilatation (0.85% ± 0.19 at 14.4% O vs. 1.53% ± 0.42 at 2.7% O). Inhibition of voltage-gated Ca-influx using NiCl completely diminished hypoxia-induced vasodilatation. Instead, all arterial segments investigated constricted. Furthermore, we did not observe altered hypoxia-induced vasomotion in eNOS- or TASK1 mice compared to wt animals.
CONCLUSIONS
The present study demonstrated that hypoxic vasodilatation in mice mesenteric arteries is mediated by a NO-independent mechanism. In this experimental setting, we found evidence for Ca-mediated activation of ion channels causing hypoxic vasodilatation.
Topics: Animals; Calcium; Hypoxia; Male; Mesenteric Arteries; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Mice, Knockout; Nerve Tissue Proteins; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type III; Oxygen; Potassium Channels, Tandem Pore Domain; Vascular Resistance; Vasodilation
PubMed: 30144829
DOI: 10.1186/s40001-018-0335-8 -
Nitric Oxide : Biology and Chemistry Nov 2013l-Arginine and its decarboxylated product, agmatine are important mediators of NO production and vascular relaxation. However, the underlying mechanisms of their action...
l-Arginine and its decarboxylated product, agmatine are important mediators of NO production and vascular relaxation. However, the underlying mechanisms of their action are not understood. We have investigated the role of arginine and agmatine in resistance vessel relaxation of Sprague-Dawley (SD) and Dahl salt-sensitive hypertensive rats. Second or 3rd-order mesenteric arterioles were cannulated in an organ chamber, pressurized and equilibrated before perfusing intraluminally with agonists. The vessel diameters were measured after mounting on the stage of a microscope fitted with a video camera. The gene expression in Dahl rat vessel homogenates was ascertained by real-time PCR. l-Arginine initiated relaxations (EC50, 5.8±0.7mM; n=9) were inhibited by arginine decarboxylase (ADC) inhibitor, difluoromethylarginine (DFMA) (EC50, 18.3±1.3mM; n=5) suggesting that arginine-induced vessel relaxation was mediated by agmatine formation. Agmatine relaxed the SD rat vessels at significantly lower concentrations (EC50, 138.7±12.1μM; n=22), which was compromised by l-NAME (l-N(G)-nitroarginine methyl ester, an eNOS inhibitor), RX821002 (α-2 AR antagonist) and pertussis toxin (G-protein inhibitor). The agmatine-mediated vessel relaxation from high salt Dahl rats was abolished as compared to that from normal salt rats (EC50, 143.9±23.4μM; n=5). The α-2A AR, α-2B AR and eNOS mRNA expression was downregulated in mesenteric arterioles of high-salt treated Dahl hypertensive rats. These findings demonstrate that agmatine facilitated the relaxation via activation of α-2 adrenergic G-protein coupled receptor and NO synthesis, and this pathway is compromised in salt-sensitive hypertension.
Topics: Agmatine; Animals; Arginine; Carboxy-Lyases; Hypertension; Male; Mesenteric Arteries; Nitric Oxide; Rats; Rats, Inbred Dahl; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Vasodilation
PubMed: 23994446
DOI: 10.1016/j.niox.2013.08.005 -
BMC Gastroenterology Mar 2021Fibromuscular dysplasia (FMD) is a type of unexplained nonatherosclerotic vascular disease that usually involves the renal and internal carotid arteries and rarely... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Fibromuscular dysplasia (FMD) is a type of unexplained nonatherosclerotic vascular disease that usually involves the renal and internal carotid arteries and rarely involves the mesenteric artery. Mesenteric artery FMD is difficult to distinguish from Crohn's disease (CD) and Behcet's disease (BD) solely based on symptoms. Patients with mesenteric artery FMD can present with an acute abdomen, but case reports of patients who have a long medical history and undergo multiple bowel resections are extremely rare.
CASE PRESENTATION
The patient was a 45-year-old woman with an 11-year history of intermittent lower abdominal pain and fever. At the age of 34 years, she underwent right hemicolectomy and appendectomy due to an acute abdomen. She suffered from oral ulcers between 34 and 36 years old. A clinical diagnosis of presumed CD was made by the age of 41, and she was treated with mesalazine; however, the effect was poor. At the age of 42, she came to our centre, and based on her atypical symptoms and examination results, we thought she had CD. Hence, she was treated with glucocorticoids for 3 years. However, when she was 45, due to steroid dependence, thalidomide tablets were added. Unfortunately, she suffered from another episode of intestinal obstruction. Therefore, she underwent enterectomy. The postoperative histopathological diagnosis was mesenteric artery FMD. She no longer underwent pharmacotherapy after the surgery. Although she did not have any of her previous symptoms and postoperative colonoscopy showed no signs of recurrence, splenomegaly and abnormal routine blood results were still present.
CONCLUSIONS
Patients with mesenteric artery FMD can present with an acute abdomen. In addition, the symptoms and endoscopic manifestations of mesenteric artery FMD may appear similar to CD and BD. Hence, it is difficult to make a clear clinical diagnosis and proceed with treatment. Mesenteric artery FMD often requires surgical pathology to confirm its diagnosis. For patients who suffer from this disorder, surgery may be the best choice to improve the patient's quality of life.
Topics: Adult; Female; Fibromuscular Dysplasia; Humans; Mesenteric Arteries; Middle Aged; Quality of Life
PubMed: 33752607
DOI: 10.1186/s12876-021-01702-y -
Vasorelaxant activity of Sappan Lignum constituents and extracts on rat aorta and mesenteric artery.Biological & Pharmaceutical Bulletin 2010We investigated the vasorelaxant activity of the methanolic extracts of Sappan Lignum (CSE) and its constituents, brazilin, sappanchalcone, and protosappanins A-E, on... (Comparative Study)
Comparative Study
We investigated the vasorelaxant activity of the methanolic extracts of Sappan Lignum (CSE) and its constituents, brazilin, sappanchalcone, and protosappanins A-E, on rat aorta and mesenteric artery. By comparing the vasorelaxant activity of CSE and brazilin on both blood vessels, we found that CSE contained active constituents other than brazilin. When added to brazilin, sappanchalcone and protosappanin D showed vasorelaxant activity on both blood vessels precontracted with phenylephrine. We clarified that the vasorelaxant activity of brazilin was endothelium-independent, while that of sappanchalcone was endothelium-dependent, on both blood vessels. On the other hand, the vasorelaxant activity of protosappanin D was independent of the endothelium of the aorta and dependent on the endothelium of the mesenteric artery. Experiments on sappanchalcone and protosappanin D using NG-nitro-L-arginine and indomethacin revealed the involvement of nitric oxide and prostaglandin as endothelium-derived relaxation factors (EDRFs). The anti-oketsu effect of Sappan Lignum might be attributable to the interaction of those compounds. We could partly evaluate the anti-oketsu activity of Sappan Lignum using both the aorta and the mesenteric artery. Through this study, we showed the importance of comparing the effects on the aorta and the mesenteric artery as we found that natural compounds showed different mechanisms of action on the two blood vessels.
Topics: Animals; Aorta, Thoracic; Benzopyrans; Caesalpinia; Chalcones; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Drugs, Chinese Herbal; Male; Mesenteric Arteries; Phenols; Plant Extracts; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Vasodilator Agents
PubMed: 20823574
DOI: 10.1248/bpb.33.1555 -
Vascular Pharmacology 2011Estrogen has both beneficial and detrimental effects on the cardiovascular system. Selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs) exhibit partial estrogen...
Estrogen has both beneficial and detrimental effects on the cardiovascular system. Selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs) exhibit partial estrogen agonist/antagonist activity in estrogen target tissues. Gene targets of estrogen and SERMs in the vasculature are not well-known. Thus, the present study tested the hypothesis that estrogens (ethinyl estradiol, estradiol benzoate, and equilin) and SERMs (tamoxifen and raloxifene) cause differential gene and protein expression in the vasculature. DNA microarray and real-time RT-PCR were used to investigate gene expression in the mesenteric arteries of estrogen and SERM treated ovariectomized rats. The genes shown to be differentially expressed included stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD), soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH), secreted frizzled related protein-4 (SFRP-4), insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), phospholipase A2 group 1B (PLA2-G1B), and fatty acid synthase (FAS). Western blot further confirmed the differential expression of sEH, SFRP-4, FAS, and SCD protein. These results reveal that estrogens and SERMs cause differential gene and protein expression in the mesenteric artery. Consequently, the use of these agents may be associated with a unique profile of functional and structural changes in the mesenteric arterial circulation.
Topics: Animals; Estrogens; Female; Gene Expression Profiling; Gene Expression Regulation; Mesenteric Arteries; Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; Protein Biosynthesis; Raloxifene Hydrochloride; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; Receptors, Estrogen; Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulators; Tamoxifen
PubMed: 21658471
DOI: 10.1016/j.vph.2011.05.002 -
PloS One 2015In this study, our aims were to investigate transient receptor potential melastatin-8 channels (TRPM8) involvement in rotundifolone induced relaxation in the mesenteric...
In this study, our aims were to investigate transient receptor potential melastatin-8 channels (TRPM8) involvement in rotundifolone induced relaxation in the mesenteric artery and to increase the understanding of the role of these thermosensitive TRP channels in vascular tissue. Thus, message and protein levels of TRPM8 were measured by semi-quantitative PCR and western blotting in superior mesenteric arteries from 12 week-old Spague-Dawley (SD) rats. Isometric tension recordings evaluated the relaxant response in mesenteric rings were also performed. Additionally, the intracellular Ca2+ changes in mesenteric artery myocytes were measured using confocal microscopy. Using PCR and western blotting, both TRPM8 channel mRNA and protein expression was measured in SD rat mesenteric artery. Rotundifolone and menthol induced relaxation in the isolated superior mesenteric artery from SD rats and improved the relaxant response induced by cool temperatures. Also, this monoterpene induced an increase in transient intracellular Ca2+. These responses were significantly attenuated by pretreatment with capsazepine or BCTC, both TRPM8 channels blockers. The response induced by rotundifolone was not significantly attenuated by ruthenium red, a non-selective TRP channels blocker, or following capsaicin-mediated desensitization of TRPV1. Our findings suggest that rotundifolone induces relaxation by activating TRPM8 channels in rat superior mesenteric artery, more selectively than menthol, the classic TRPM8 agonist, and TRPM8 channels participates in vasodilatory pathways in isolated rat mesenteric arteries.
Topics: Animals; Blotting, Western; Calcium; Calcium Signaling; Capsaicin; Cold Temperature; Cytosol; In Vitro Techniques; Ion Channel Gating; Male; Menthol; Mesenteric Arteries; Monoterpenes; Pyrazines; Pyridines; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; Ruthenium Red; TRPM Cation Channels; TRPV Cation Channels; Vasodilation
PubMed: 26599698
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0143171