Biomedical subjects

W Stirewalt

Publications and source records attributed to W Stirewalt.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1996

Hemodynamic and biochemical characteristics of the aorta in the WKY, SHR, WKHT, and WKHA rat strains.

This study was designed to characterize the hemodynamic and biochemical properties of the abdominal aorta in four genetically related inbred rat strains that express genetic hypertension and hyperactive behavior in varying combinations. These include (1) the spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR), which is hypertensive, hyperactive, and hyperreactive to stress; (2) Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats, which express none of these traits; (3) WKHT rats, which are hypertensive but not hyperactive; and (4) WKHA rats, which are hyperactive and hyperreactive to stress, but normotensive. Together, these four strains allowed us to examine the structural and functional changes in the aorta in the hypertensive SHR, the most widely used animal model of genetic hypertension, while controlling for the variables of hyperactivity and hyperreactivity that are also expressed in the SHR. Four groups of animals of both sexes were studied: (1) WKY, n = 101, (2) WKHA, n = 33, (3) WKHT, n = 91, and (4) SHR, n = 28. Blood pressure (BP) was determined by tail plethysmography as well as direct intraarterial monitoring under anesthesia. Fixed specimens were prepared for histologic analysis and the wall thickness determined morphometrically. Quantification of soluble tissue protein, elastin, and collagen in the aortic tissue was determined by measuring leucine (leu), hydroxyproline (HP/leu), and desmosine (DES/leu). The hypertensive strains (SHR and WKHT) had significantly higher tail BP than the normotensive strains (WKY and WKHA)-WKY: 128.7 +/- 22.3; WKHA: 126.7 +/- 14.6; WKHT: 162.8 +/- 21.2; SHR: 164.2 +/- 36.1 (p < 0.0001). Additionally, intraaortic diastolic BP and mean BP were higher in SHR rats than in WKHT. Morphometric studies showed the media thickness in the SHR rats was significantly greater than in the WKY and WKHA rats and no different than in the WKHT rats. Significantly less of the aortic wall protein was present as elastin in the hypertensive rats (SHR and WKHT), as well as the hyperactive rats (WKHA), compared to rats that had neither trait (WKY). These studies provide new information regarding aortic structure and function in genetic hypertension using inbred strains to control for the hyperactivity/hyperreactivity traits that coexist with hypertension in the SHR. They reveal that hypertensive aortas have altered matrix proteins that cannot be explained simply on the basis of blood pressure alone.

Amino Acids↗

PubMed1994

Effect of insulin on rat heart and skeletal muscle phenylalanyl-tRNA labeling and protein synthesis in vivo.

In vivo measurement of muscle protein synthesis and its hormonal regulation is limited by the difficulty of measuring aminoacyl-tRNA specific activity (SA). We assessed the kinetics of heart and skeletal muscle phenylalanyl-tRNA labeling during continuous infusion of L-[ring-2,6-3H]phenylalanine (Phe) to fasted anesthetized rats. We measured Phe SA in arterial and femoral venous plasma, the tissue acid-soluble pool and muscle protein hydrolysates after 5 min (n = 7), 30 min (n = 6), and 90 min (n = 7). We also assessed insulin's effect on labeling of the tRNA pool and muscle protein synthesis during a hyperinsulinemic clamp (2 mU.kg-1.min-1; n = 7). Labeling of tRNA in heart reached 59 +/- 5, 67 +/- 3, and 83 +/- 3% of arterial SA at 5, 30, and 90 min of saline infusion, respectively, but only 10 +/- 5, 34 +/- 2, and 48 +/- 2% in skeletal muscle at those times (P < 0.01 vs. heart). The tRNA SA was intermediate between SA in the acid-soluble pool and arterial plasma. Femoral venous SA was 32 +/- 2% lower (P < 0.001) than arterial SA. Skeletal muscle tRNA SA was also 29 +/- 3% lower (P < 0.001) than femoral venous SA. Insulin did not alter tRNA labeling and neither heart (9.8 +/- 1.1%/day for saline vs. 8.4 +/- 1.0%/day for insulin) nor skeletal muscle (6.7 +/- 1.5%/day vs. 4.2 +/- 0.4%/day) protein synthesis. Thus labeling of phenylalanyl-tRNA occurs more rapidly in heart than in skeletal muscle and is unaffected by insulin.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗

PubMed1993

Myosin isoform expression in developing and remodeling rat lung.

The tissue distribution of myosin isoforms was examined in developing smooth muscle of rat lung. Antisera employed included a general smooth muscle myosin antibody (aSMMG) and two smooth muscle myosin isoform specific antisera (aSM1 and aSM2). In the pseudoglandular, canalicular, and saccular lung, the isoform-specific aSM1 antiserum was very lightly reactive only with large airway and not reactive with vascular smooth muscle, whereas aSM2 was unreactive with any lung cells. During these same stages, the aSMMG serum reacted well with the mesenchymal coat around the larger airways, declining in intensity as the tube size diminished. Vascular smooth muscle elements had only moderate reactivity at this time. In the adult, aSM1 marked airway smooth muscle as well as the tips of the alveolar septae. Vascular reactivity was seen in both arterial and venous elements. An identical distribution of reactivity was seen for aSMMG. aSM2 reactivity appeared confined primarily to airway smooth muscle and was absent from all but the largest vascular structures. Companion Western blot analyses confirmed the presence of SM1 in fetal and mature tissues as well as the relative lack of SM2 in all but the fully differentiated airways. Lung injury due to intratracheal instillation of bleomycin is characterized by a proliferation of mesenchymal cells similar to immature smooth muscle cells. These cells express smooth muscle forms of actin but lacked the mature smooth muscle myosin isoforms. In summary, differentiation of smooth muscle in the lung proceeds with progressive replacement of nonmuscle isoforms of myosin with differentiation-specific forms. In this regard, the maturation of vascular muscle tissue lags behind that of nonvascular (visceral) muscle structures.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Amino Acid Sequence↗