Stimulation of the endogenous hydrogen sulfide synthesis restores constitutive nitric oxide synthesis and endothelium-dependent vasodilation in old rats
Authors: Mys LA , Strutynska NA , Luchkova AY , Sagach VF 
Published: June 2022

Funding Acknowledgements

Type of funding sources: None.

Introduction

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is a gas transmitter of endogenous origin, which has an important regulatory function in the human body. Endogenous H2S is synthesized by three enzymes, cistationine-β-synthase (CBS), cistationine-γ-liase (CSE), and 3-mercaptopyruvate sulfurtransferase (3-MTS), which is coupled to the activity of cysteine aminotransferase (CAT). CAT, CBS, and CSE are pyridoxal-5- phosphate (PLP)-dependent enzymes. It is known that with age the exchange of hydrogen sulfide is disturbed against the background of increasing oxidative and nitrosative stress. At the same time there is a decrease of constitutive synthesis of nitric oxide (NO). Recent studies show that hydrogen sulfide closely interacts with the NO system. Activation of H2S biosynthesis and restoration of its pools in tissues of old animals may be a promising direction of cardiovascular disease prevention.

The aim of the current work was to study the effect of H2S-synthesizing enzymes cofactor pyridoxal-5-phosphate (PLP) on the endothelium-dependent relaxation of smooth muscle vessels in old rats, as well as the H2S content and cNOS activity in aortic tissues.

Methods

Old rats (22-24 months old) were PLP  administered per os in dose of 0,7 mg per kg daily for 2 weeks.The content of hydrogen sulfide, activity of cNOS and iNOS was measured in aortic tissues.Vascular reactions were determined in experiments on isolated aortic strips. To clarify the role of either NO or H2S in the endothelium-dependent vasorelaxation, N-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester hydrochloride (L-NAME) (Sigma, USA, 27 mg/kg) or O-carboxymethylhydroxylamine (O-CMH) (50 mg/kg) (Sigma, USA) was injected intraperitoneally 30 min before sacrificing.

Results

We showed that the H2S content was 1.6 times lower in old rat aorta compared to adult ones. PLP administration for 2 weeks induced a significant increase of H2S content in aortic tissue of old rats (P&lt;0.05). It was found that with aging, the activity of cNOS decreases by 3 times, and the stimulation of endogenous Н2S leads to an increase in the activity of this enzyme in the aortic tissues by 2.1 times as compared with those in old animals. At the same time, the activity of the iNOS enzyme with aging increases by 3.8 times, and after the introduction of PLP, it decreases almost halved. Also shown, that PLP significantly improved endothelium-dependent aortic smooth muscle relaxation in old rats. The amplitude of acetylcholine-induced relaxation which was significantly reduced in old rats was increased more than 2.5-fold. This effect was reversed by inhibitors of NO-synthase and 3-mercaptopyruvate sulfurtransferase indicating the involvement of NO and H2S in the improved endothelium-dependent vascular relaxation.

Conclusions

Thus, H2S acts as a regulator of the NO system that increases cNOS activity and NO synthesis in aortic tissue, which improves endothelium-dependent relaxation of aortic smooth muscle in aged rats.