Physiol. Res. 49: 1-10, 2000

MINIREVIEW


Role of Endothelium and Nitric Oxide in Experimental Hypertension

H. VAPAATALO, E. MERVAALA, M.-L. NURMINEN

Department of Pathophysiology, Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovak Republic, 1Third Department of Physiology, JW Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
 

Received July 30, 1999
Accepted September 21, 1999


Summary
A short review on the role of endothelium and nitric oxide (NO) in experimental hypertension is presented in the light of the literature and our own recent findings. Based on these data, it is concluded that even though there is a lot of evidence in favor of the primary and causal association of endothelial dysfunction and NO in experimental hypertension, it seems still more plausible that they are causative in some types of hypertension only. Our own experience rather speaks for a secondary but still an important participation of endothelium in the maintenance and further elevation of high blood pressure. Endothelium plays a key role in the development of organ damages in hypertension.


Key words
Endothelium • Dysfunction • Nitric oxide • Hypertension • Antihypertensive drugs
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Reprint requests
Heikki Vapaatalo, MD, Professor of Pharmacology, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Institute of Biomedicine, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 8, FIN-00014, Helsinki, Finland, e-mail: hvapaata@penger.helsinki.fi.


© 2000 by the Institute of Physiology, Czech Academy of Sciences