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M Finet

Publications and source records attributed to M Finet.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1999

The cyclo-oxygenase-dependent regulation of rabbit vein contraction: evidence for a prostaglandin E2-mediated relaxation.

1. Arachidonic acid (0.01-1 microM) induced relaxation of precontracted rings of rabbit saphenous vein, which was counteracted by contraction at concentrations higher than 1 microM. Concentrations higher than 1 microM were required to induce dose-dependent contraction of vena cava and thoracic aorta from the same animals. 2. Pretreatment with a TP receptor antagonist (GR32191B or SQ29548, 3 microM) potentiated the relaxant effect in the saphenous vein, revealed a vasorelaxant component in the vena cava response and did not affect the response of the aorta. 3. Removal of the endothelium from the venous rings, caused a 10 fold rightward shift in the concentration-relaxation curves to arachidonic acid. Whether or not the endothelium was present, the arachidonic acid-induced relaxations were prevented by indomethacin (10 microM) pretreatment. 4. In the saphenous vein, PGE2 was respectively a 50 and 100 fold more potent relaxant prostaglandin than PGI2 and PGD2. Pretreatment with the EP4 receptor antagonist, AH23848B, shifted the concentration-relaxation curves of this tissue to arachidonic acid in a dose-dependent manner. 5. In the presence of 1 microM arachidonic acid, venous rings produced 8-10 fold more PGE2 than did aorta whereas 6keto-PGF1alpha and TXB2 productions remained comparable. 6. Intact rings of saphenous vein relaxed in response to A23187. Pretreatment with L-NAME (100 microM) or indomethacin (10 microM) reduced this response by 50% whereas concomitant pretreatment totally suppressed it. After endothelium removal, the remaining relaxing response to A23187 was prevented by indomethacin but not affected by L-NAME. 7. We conclude that stimulation of the cyclo-oxygenase pathway by arachidonic acid induced endothelium-dependent, PGE2/EP4 mediated relaxation of the rabbit saphenous vein. This process might participate in the A23187-induced relaxation of the saphenous vein and account for a relaxing component in the response of the vena cava to arachidonic acid. It was not observed in thoracic aorta because of the lack of a vasodilatory receptor and/or the poorer ability of this tissue than veins to produce PGE2.

6-Ketoprostaglandin F1 alpha↗
PubMed1999

Smooth muscle differentiation in human vein wall at valvular level: comparison with nonvalvular wall and correlation with venous function.

The aim of this study was to evaluate local differences in smooth muscle differentiation in venous valves of patients suffering from chronic venous insufficiency, in relation to functional hemodynamic parameters measured by echo Doppler. These functional parameters did not correlate with smooth muscle differentiation at the valvular site. These results failed to support an initiating role of valvular structure in the development of chronic venous insufficiency. However, this work stresses differences in cellular differentiation of valve wall and nonvalvular smooth muscle cells in culture, and we found histologic differences in the structure of endovein and media (connective tissue relative content) between valvular and nonvalvular venous wall. The presence of smooth muscle cells in the valve cusp was demonstrated by smooth muscle alpha-actin-specific labeling and was observed to be restricted to one side of the valve cusp.

Actins↗
PubMed1998

L-arginine and NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester cause macromolecule extravasation in the microcirculation of awake hamsters.

We investigated the effects of L-arginine and NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) on macromolecule extravasation in the microcirculation of awake hamsters by computer-assisted image analysis of the distribution of FITC (fluorescein isothiocyanate)-dextran fluorescence in dorsal fold skin preparations. This analysis made it possible to simultaneously study the time course of local (skin) and general (all irrigated organs) extravasation in 180-min experiments. Bolus injection of 30 or 150 mg/kg (i.v.) L-arginine induced immediate local and general macromolecule leakage and delayed venule dilation beginning 1 h later. Injection of 20 or 100 mg/kg (i.v.) L-NAME caused rapid venule constriction followed by local and general extravasation beginning 45-60 min later. These effects of L-arginine and L-NAME were not mimicked by their biologically inactive isomers, D-arginine and D-NAME. Simultaneous bolus injection of 20 mg/kg L-NAME and 150 mg/kg L-arginine caused no significant change in fluorescence distribution or venule diameter. L-arginine effects on macromolecule extravasation were mimicked by sodium nitroprusside (10 microg/kg, i.v.) and by 8-bromo-cGMP (1 mg/kg, i.v.). Sodium nitroprusside was ineffective on venule diameter. The effects of both L-arginine and sodium nitroprusside on FITC-dextran extravasation were prevented by simultaneous injection (10 microg/kg, i.v.) of the specific inhibitor of the soluble guanylate cyclase, 1H-[1,2,4]oxadiazolo[4,3-a]quinoxalin-1-one (ODQ). This dose of ODQ mimicked the effects of L-NAME on macromolecule extravasation and venule diameter. Taken together, these results suggest that activation or inhibition of basal NO synthesis might induce macromolecule leakage in the microcirculation of awake hamsters via temporally distinct cGMP-dependent mechanisms.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Histamine-induced biphasic macromolecular leakage in the microcirculation of the conscious hamster: evidence for a delayed nitric oxide-dependent leakage.

1. Late effects (up to 3 h) of intravenously-injected histamine on FITC-dextran extravasation were investigated in the conscious hamster, by use of computer-assisted image analysis of fluorescence distribution in a microscopic window of dorsal skin fold preparations. This analysis allowed measurement of local (skin) and general (all organs) extravasations caused by a bolus injection of histamine (1 mg kg(-1), i.v.) 2. Histamine doses higher than 0.01 mg kg(-1) caused biphasic local and general extravasations. Initial phases developed fully within 15 min (for local) and 60 min (for general) and were followed by late phases beginning 90 min after histamine injection. Although the initial and late phases of histamine-induced extravasations had differential apparent reactivities to the autacoid, all the effects of histamine on the microcirculation (1 mg kg[-1]) were inhibited by pyrilamine (1 mg kg(-1), i.v.) but not by cimetidine (1 mg kg(-1), i.v.). 3. Pretreatment with N(G)-monomethyl-L-arginine (L-NMMA, 30 mg kg(-1), i.v.) or N(G)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME, 100 mg kg(-1), i.v.) did not affect the initial phases but did prevent the late phases of local and general extravasations triggered by 1 mg kg(-1) histamine. The inhibitory effects of L-NAME were reversed by L-arginine (30 mg kg[-1]) but not by D-arginine (30 mg kg[-1]) according to the enantioselectivity of nitric oxide synthase (NOS). A late NO-mediated venular dilatation occurred in response to plasma histamine. 4. A low dose of aminoguanidine (1 mg kg(-1), i.v.), a selective inhibitor of the inducible isoform of NOS (iNOS), mimicked the inhibitory effects of L-NAME on the late phases of histamine-induced macromolecular extravasations and venular dilatation. 5. Pretreatment with dexamethasone (1 mg kg(-1), i.v.) prevented both the initial and late phases of histamine-induced extravasations. Fucoidan (1 or 25 mg kg(-1), i.v.) prevented the late phases without affecting initial phases, consistent with a role for leukocytes adhesion in the development of the late NO-mediated effects of histamine. 6. We conclude that intravenous injection of histamine triggers a biphasic inflammatory cascade via initial activation of H1 receptors which induces a late NO-mediated PMN-dependent extravasation process.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Vascular remodeling in varicose veins.

The present study describes the histopathologic aspects of varicose (n=29; mean age, 52 +/- 12 years) and normal saphenous veins (n=17; mean age, 51 +/- 12 years) of patients from a similar age group. We focused on the changes that occur in the circular layer of the venous wall. We examined the venous walls by light microscopy and transmission electronmicroscopy. A semiquantitative grading system was used to assess the smooth muscle cell (SMC) hypertrophy and the change that occurs in the elastin pattern. The volume densities (Vv) of SMC and collagen were measured as well as the diameter of the SMC, and the nuclei of SMC per fixed area were counted. The varicose vein wall differed from the normal saphenous vein by the presence of hypertrophic SMC as well as disorganized elastin patterns. A correlation between the hypertrophic SMC and an abnormal elastin pattern was observed (r=0.658, p<0.001). Ultrastructurally, the SMC show prominent microherniations and vesicles that bud from the cell. These vesicles contain microfilaments and microtubuli, although no other organelles could be detected. The elastin fibers are disrupted from the hypertrophic SMC. No significant difference could be detected in both the Vv of SMC and the Vv of collagen. The diameter of the SMC in the varicose vein (d=9.45 +/- 1.22 microm) differs significantly from that in the normal saphenous vein (d=6.22 +/- 1.47 microm) (p<0.001). Also, the nuclei of SMC per fixed area differs significantly between the varicose (87 +/- 18) and nonvaricose (117 +/- 24) veins (p<0.001). We conclude that the cellular hypertrophy of the SMC and the microherniations could be the basis for disruption of the elastin fibers connected to the SMC in varicose veins. Disrupted connections between SMC and elastin fibers could in turn induce the weakness of the venous wall observed in varicose vein disease.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Comparison of the nitric oxide and cyclo-oxygenase pathway in mesenteric resistance vessels of normotensive and spontaneously hypertensive rats.

1. The double perfused mesentery was used to compare arterial and venous KCl- and acetylcholine (ACh)-induced responses in tissues taken from normotensive (WKY) and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) in the presence or absence of inhibitors of nitric oxide (NO) synthase (NG-nitro-L-arginine (L-NOARG) and NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME)) and cyclo-oxygenase (indomethacin, mefenamic acid). 2. KCl (20 to 120 mM K+) caused concentration-dependent increases in arterial and venous perfusion pressures. The maximal arterial effects were significantly higher in the SHRs than in the WKY, with no differences in the venous pressor responses. 3. L-NAME and L-NOARG (100 microM) had no effect on the basal perfusion pressures in tissues from either WKY or SHRs, and mefenamic acid only induced a significant reduction of the basal perfusion pressures in the venous mesenteric vessels isolated from WKY. 4. L-NAME and L-NOARG (100 microM) potentiated the pressor responses to KCl to the same extent in the venous and arterial beds derived from WKY and SHR, while indomethacin and mefenamic acid (5 microM) only significantly decreased these responses in WKY. 5. Acetylcholine (ACh)-induced relaxations (1 nM to 10 microM) were significantly higher in arterial beds of WKY than in SHR, without differences in the venous relaxant responses. 6. L-NAME (100 microM) inhibited ACh-induced relaxations in arterial and venous beds from both groups of rats. Mefenamic acid was without effect on ACh-induced relaxations in either the arterial or the venous beds from WKY and SHR. 7. In conclusion, the liberation of NO in the perfused mesenteric vasculatures requires an active tone and no dysfunction of NO synthase activity is functionally apparent in the mesenteries isolated from SHRs. The cyclo-oxygenase pathway is only implicated in the KCl-induced responses of tissues derived from WKY, but not in the vasodilatations induced by ACh in either the arterial or the venous vasculatures from WKY and SHR.

Acetylcholine↗
PubMed1997

Roles of NO-synthase and cyclooxygenase in sex- and pregnancy-dependent arterial and venous pressures in the rat.

The roles of NO synthase (NOS) and cyclooxygenase on vascular pressures were studied as a function of sex and pregnancy. After anesthesia, mean arterial pressure (MAP) and mean circulatory filling pressure were lower in pregnant rats compared with male and virgin rats, but N(G)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME; 30 mg/kg) induced similar increases in MAP. Pithing abolished these pressure differences, suggesting a diminished autonomic reflex in pregnancy, and led in pregnant rats to a lower arterial and venous NO modulation. In separately perfused mesenteries, the lower responses to KCI observed in venous beds of female compared with male rats do not involve any dysfunction of NOS activity in the mesenteries isolated from virgin and pregnant rats. The cyclooxygenase pathway is implicated in the KCl-induced responses of vessels taken from male rats and of venous mesentery from pregnant rats. But prostanoids do not share in the acetylcholine (ACh)-induced relaxations in the arterial and venous K+-contracted mesenteric vasculatures isolated from any of the groups of rats.

Acetylcholine↗
PubMed1995

Progesterone receptor expression in human saphenous veins.

BACKGROUND: Clinical and epidemiological observations regarding varicose veins, such as their predominance in women and the occurrence of venous stasis during sex-hormone therapy, the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle, and pregnancy, suggest a sex hormone-dependency of this venous pathology. In the present study, analysis of steroid receptors was used to determine if these effects were due to a direct hormonal action on the saphenous vein. METHODS AND RESULTS: Biopsy samples were obtained from patients undergoing stripping removal of varicose saphenous veins. Patients were men (n = 5) and premenopausal (n = 15) or postmenopausal (n = 10) women. Progesterone receptors (PR) and estrogen receptors (ER) were determined by both enzyme immunoassay (EIA) and immunocytochemistry by use of monoclonal antibodies. Ninety percent of the biopsy samples showed PR positivity by EIA (range, 5 to 53 fmol/mg cytosol protein). When present, PR staining was observed in the cell nuclei of the tunica media and the subendothelial layer (neointima). No significant variation was observed in the PR content of different regions within the same saphenous vein. In contrast, no ER or extremely low levels of ER (< 5 fmol/mg cytosol protein) were detected by EIA in 25 of 30 varicose biopsy samples. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to analyze PR and ER mRNAs in biopsy samples that were PR positive/ER negative. With primers to the hormone-binding region encoded by PR mRNA, a RT-PCR product of the expected size was detected and its identity confirmed by Southern blot by use of a PR cDNA probe. In contrast, no RT-PCR product could be detected by use of primers to the DNA-binding domain, the hinge region, and the ligand-binding domain encoded by ER mRNA. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that human saphenous veins from both sexes express PR, as previously described for arterial blood vessels. This observation suggests that progesterone acts directly on these veins via a classic receptor-mediated pathway.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

[Venous hemodynamics of the lower limbs].

Low pressure venous return results from several different pump systems. Blood flow and velocity depend on sympathetic tone and contraction of the veins modulating distensibility. In patients with chronic venous insufficiency, different components including hyperdistensibility, hyperpressure, valve failure, back-flow and stasis, lead to a vicious circle. These elements modify the venous wall and lead to hyperdistension producing modified distensibility and/or formation of varicose veins. Endothelial and smooth muscle cells participate in these changes. Smooth muscle cells play a major role: some hypertrophy and/or lose their contractility, synthesizing and sometimes rapidly destroying tissue. These changes in the circulation, sometimes increased by inflammation and thrombosis, affect microcirculatory haemodynamics with a variable delay. The venous system, even when pathological (as long as it is not totally invaded by fibrosis) responds to a large number of relaxing or constricting pharmacological agents, justifying their therapeutic value.

Hemodynamics↗
PubMed1991

[Artemisia monosperma of the coastal plain as an allergen source in Jerusalem].

The possibility that pollen grains of Artemisia monosperma (AM) are transported to Jerusalem from their native habitat along the coastal plain was investigated. Air-borne pollen grains were sampled in the early autumn of 1989 with a Rotorod pollen sampler. During that period only 1 of the 4 species of AM in Israel, A. monosperma, was flowering. The sampling day was typical for the late summer, with a light NW breeze. Sampling was done simultaneously in 3 sites: Tel Aviv, Carmei Yosef and Jerusalem. The greatest concentration of pollen in Tel Aviv was found during the morning hours and decreased during the course of the day. Pollen counts in Carmei Yosef reached a maximum at 11:00 a.m. A substantial number of air-borne AM pollen was recorded in Jerusalem, with a daily peak at 1:00 p.m. Such results fit well the distribution pattern of the pollen as expected from the recorded wind velocity and direction. They also agree well with the data for transportation of other air pollutants from the coastal plain to Jerusalem. Apparently AM pollen is transported to Jerusalem over distances of many tens of kilometers, even on days with light winds. Therefore, such pollen may constitute an allergenic factor in Jerusalem in the autumn. It is reasonable to assume that transportation of pollens of other coastal plants follows a similar pattern.

Allergens↗
PubMed1991

Effect of parathyroidectomy on development of hypertension and atrial responsiveness in spontaneous hypertensive rats.

1. In order to further clarify the relationships between parathyroid function and development of hypertension, the effects of parathyroidectomy (PTX) on blood pressure and on responsiveness of atria isolated from spontaneous hypertensive rats (SHR) were examined. 2. PTX was carried out in 6-week-old SHR and normotensive Wistar rats. The experiments were performed 2 weeks after surgery. 3. PTX reduced the plasma calcium concentration and decreased atrial calcium content in SHR. On the other hand, basal contractile force and beat frequency of isolated atria were higher in PTX SHR than in sham-operated SHR. In response to cumulative addition of isoprenaline, atria from PTX SHR displayed diminished inotropic and chronotropic responses compared with sham-operated SHR. Similar results were obtained in atria isolated from Wistar rats. When calcium sensitivity was studied in atria from Wistar rats, basal and isoprenaline-induced maximum contractile forces were higher in PTX group than in the sham-operated group. Nevertheless, basal and isoprenaline-induced maximum contractile forces, determined at the respective plasma ionized calcium concentration of PTX and sham-operated groups (0.83 and 1.22 mmol/L), were not significantly different. 4. Our results do not favour a role for alteration in atrial activity as a causal mechanism in delayed development of experimental genetic hypertension after parathyroidectomy.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

The protective action of R56865 against ouabain-induced intoxication in rat heart isolated atria and ventricles.

The action of R56865 has been examined on the contractile effects produced by ouabain concentrations interacting with high (3 microM) and low (300 microM) affinity digitalis receptors on electrically stimulated ventricular strips isolated from rat. R56865 1 microM reduced the increase in resting tension produced by ouabain 300 microM and left unalterated the inotropic effect evoked by ouabain 3 and 300 microM that was reduced by higher concentrations (3 and 6 microM) of R56865. The action of R56865 was also studied on ouabain-induced intoxication in electrically stimulated and spontaneously beating atria of rat. On electrically stimulated (3 Hz) whole atria, R56865 0.3 microM reduced the maximal increase in resting tension produced by ouabain 300 microM and delayed the time to onset of the ouabain-induced arrhythmias but did not affect ouabain's inotropic effect. Higher concentrations of R56865 were required to reduce the inotropic effect of ouabain. The protective action of R56865 against ouabain-induced intoxication was most pronounced on spontaneously beating atria where it reduced spontaneous rate of beats. Experiments in electrically driven left atria indicated that only a part of the protective effect of R56865 could be related to its bradycardic action. The effect of R56865 was also examined on ouabain-induced inhibition of sodium pump in human red blood cells. R56865 6 microM did not modify the inhibition produced by ouabain (from 0.3 to 10 nM), this indicates that the protective action of R56865 against ouabain-induced intoxication is not due to an interaction with the inhibitory effect of ouabain on sodium pump.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Pharmacology of endothelin-1 in isolated vessels: effect of nicardipine, methylene blue, hemoglobin, and gossypol.

Sensitive bioassay tissues for porcine endothelin-1 (ET-1) were developed in a cascade superfusion system and in organ baths. Venous preparations of the rabbit and rat were more sensitive than arterial preparations. ET-1 had a different pharmacological profile than Bay K 8644 on the various preparations. Nicardipine (0.1-1 microM) abolished the responses to Bay K 8644 without affecting those induced by ET-1. Thus, ET-1 contracts venous and some arterial vessels via specific receptors or channels that differ from dihydropyridine-sensitive calcium channels. Methylene blue and hemoglobin potentiated responses to ET-1 in endothelium-denuded venous vessels, whereas gossypol had no effect.

3-Pyridinecarboxylic acid, 1,4-dihydro-2,6-dimethy↗
PubMed1987

The actions of nifedipine and nisoldipine on the contractile activity of human coronary arteries and human cardiac tissue in vitro.

We have studied the action of nifedipine and nisoldipine on the contractile activity of human isolated coronary arteries and human isolated auricular and ventricular muscles. Nisoldipine depressed dose dependently the spontaneous rhythmic contractions displayed by the coronary artery preparations and at 1 nM abolished these contractions. Nisoldipine was twenty times more potent than nifedipine as an inhibitor of increase in tone induced by depolarization (100 mM K+). The rhythmic activity induced by serotonin (10 microM) was about five times more sensitive to nisoldipine than to nifedipine. In both auricular and ventricular preparations, isoprenaline evoked an increase in the rate of force development and in the rate of relaxation. Nifedipine was five times (ventricular muscles) and ten times (auricular muscles) more potent than nisoldipine as a negative inotropic agent. The present observations in human isolated preparations indicate that nisoldipine shows a higher vascular selectivity than nifedipine.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

Selective inhibition by ethylisopropylamiloride of the positive inotropic effect evoked by low concentrations of ouabain in rat isolated ventricles.

The biphasic positive inotropic effect of ouabain has been studied in rat ventricular strips in the presence of ethylisopropylamiloride (EIPA) an inhibitor of Na+/H+ exchange. EIPA (10-20 microM) depressed dose-dependently the high affinity component of the ouabain inotropic effect, whereas it did not significantly modify the low affinity inotropic effect related to high concentrations of ouabain. At the EIPA concentrations studied, there was no observable modification of the inotropic effect of Bay K 8644 (10 nM, 0.3 microM) or of isoprenaline (10 nM, 1 microM). These results indicate that the inotropic effect of ouabain resulting from its interaction with high affinity sites is selectively sensitive to EIPA.

3-Pyridinecarboxylic acid, 1,4-dihydro-2,6-dimethy↗
PubMed1985

The positive inotropic action of the nifedipine analogue, Bay K 8644, in guinea-pig and rat isolated cardiac preparations.

The inotropic effect of Bay K 8644 has been studied in rat and guinea-pig atria and ventricular strips stimulated at 1 Hz, in a medium containing CaCl2 1.8 mM. The positive inotropic effect at maximal effective concentrations of Bay K 8644 was in the following order: guinea-pig ventricle greater than rat ventricle greater than guinea-pig atria greater than greater than rat atria. In rat preparations, the tension recorded at maximum effective concentrations of Bay K 8644 was similar at three different calcium concentrations (0.7, 1.8, 3.0 mM). The amplitude of the positive inotropic effect evoked by Bay K 8644 increased when atrial and ventricular contractions were reduced by lowering the external calcium concentration. The contractile tension reached in the presence of maximum effective concentrations of Bay K 8644 (3 X 10(-7) -1 X 10(-6) M) was greater than that produced by the maximum effective concentration of external calcium (3 mM) in rat ventricles but not in rat atria. High doses of nifedipine (3 X 10(-7) -1 X 10(-6) M) depressed the contraction of rat atria more than the contraction of rat ventricles. In rat ventricles, nifedipine shifted to the right the inotropic dose-effect curve of Bay K 8644. It is concluded that the interaction between nifedipine and Bay K 8644 occurred at the same binding sites. These sites have some characteristics of the low affinity binding sites of nifedipine and other related dihydropyridines.

3-Pyridinecarboxylic acid, 1,4-dihydro-2,6-dimethy↗
PubMed1985

Critical role of oxalate restriction in association with calcium restriction to decrease the probability of being a stone former: insufficient effect in idiopathic hypercalciuria.

The probability of being a stone former (PSF) was calculated in 3 groups of idiopathic calcium stone formers [with normocalciuria (NC), dietary hypercalciuria (DH) and idiopathic hypercalciuria (IH)] in 4 conditions: while on a free diet; on a calcium- and oxalate-restricted diet during 4 days; after an oxalate load, while on a 1.5-gram calcium diet, and after an oxalate load while on a calcium-restricted diet. Combined calcium and oxalate restriction significantly decreased PSF only in NC and DH whereas the decrease was not significant in IH because of a concomitant significant increase in oxalate excretion. Increase of PSF with the oxalate load was significantly greater during a calcium-restricted diet than during the 1.5-gram calcium diet in all groups of patients (4, 6 and 12 times greater in NC, DH and IH, respectively). These data show the critical role of oxalate restriction when calcium is restricted in order to decrease the PSF. This combined restriction is however not sufficient in idiopathic hypercalciuric patients to decrease their PSF.

Calcium↗