SELECTIVE AND COMPLETE BLOCKADE OF ACETYLCHOLINE-INDUCED RELAXATION IN RABBIT AORTIC RINGS BY N(OMEGA)-NITRO-L-ARGININE BUT NOT BY GLYBENCLAMIDE

This study addressed the possibility that acetylcholine-induced relaxation in the rabbit aorta is mediated by dual mechanisms: one N(omega)-nitro-L-arginine (NLA)-sensitive, the other glybenclamide-sensitive. Acetylcholine, nitroglycerin and BRL38227 (lemakalim), an activator of glybenclamide-sensitive potassium channels, were added to an organ bath containing rabbit aortic rings in a cumulative manner in the absence or presence of NLA and/or glybenclamide. NLA inhibited acetylcholine-induced relaxation and potentiated the relaxant response to nitroglycerin. BRL38227 caused a dose-dependent relaxation in rabbit aortic rings, and 30 muM glybenclamide produced essentially complete inhibition of this relaxation. Glybenclamide alone produced no inhibition of acetylcholine-induced relaxation. These results indicate that glybenclamide-sensitive potassium channels in the rabbit aorta play no role in mediating the relaxant response to acetylcholine, while NLA can produce a selective and essentially complete blockade of the relaxant response to acetylcholine in the rabbit aorta.