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Title: BQ123, an ETA-receptor antagonist, attenuates hypoxic pulmonary hypertension in rats. Author: Bonvallet ST, Zamora MR, Hasunuma K, Sato K, Hanasato N, Anderson D, Sato K, Stelzner TJ. Journal: Am J Physiol; 1994 Apr; 266(4 Pt 2):H1327-31. PubMed ID: 8184910. Abstract: To investigate the role of endothelin-1 (ET-1) in the pathogenesis of hypoxic pulmonary hypertension, we studied the effects of a recently described endothelin-receptor antagonist (ETA), BQ123, on the development of this process. Intraperitoneal osmotic pumps were placed into 8-wk-old Sprague-Dawley rats that received either saline or BQ123 (0.15 mg/h). The rats were maintained in room air normoxia or placed in a hypobaric chamber (380 Torr) for 2 wk to induce hypoxic pulmonary hypertension. There were no hemodynamic differences between normoxic rats treated with either saline or BQ123. However, treatment with BQ123 attenuated the hypoxia-induced increase in pulmonary arterial mean pressure and total pulmonary resistance index by 60 and 87% respectively. There was also a reduction in hypoxia-induced right ventricular hypertrophy in the BQ123 group. Histological studies performed using a barium-gelatin fixation technique in hypoxic BQ123-treated animals demonstrated a decrease in medial wall thickness in arteries corresponding to the respiratory and terminal bronchioles, respectively. Similarly, there was a significant reduction in the degree of muscularization of more distal vessels at the level of alveolar ducts in BQ123-treated hypoxic rats. We conclude that the ETA-receptor antagonist BQ123 attenuates the development of hypoxic pulmonary hypertension in rats in vivo, thereby suggesting a possible contributing role for ET-1 and the ETA receptor in the pathogenesis of this process.[Abstract] [Full Text] [Related] [New Search]