American Journal of Hypertension 2015-01-01

NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1 activation reduces blood pressure through regulation of endothelial nitric oxide synthase acetylation in spontaneously hypertensive rats.

Yong-Hoon Kim, Jung Hwan Hwang, Kyoung-Shim Kim, Jung-Ran Noh, Gil-Tae Gang, Youngwon Seo, Ki-Hoan Nam, Tae Hwan Kwak, Hee Gu Lee, Chul-Ho Lee

Index: Am. J. Hypertens. 28(1) , 50-7, (2014)

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Abstract

Endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) is involved in blood pressure (BP) regulation through the production of nitric oxide. Sirtuin I (SIRT1), an NAD-dependent protein deacetylase, promotes vascular relaxation through deacetylation and activation of eNOS. β-Lapachone (βL) increases the cellular NAD(+)/NADH ratio by activatingquinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1). In this study, we verified whether activation of NQO1 by βL modulates BP through regulation of eNOS acetylation in a hypertensive animal model.Spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) and an endothelial cell line (bEnd.3 cells) were used to investigate the hypotensive effect of βL and its mechanism of action.βL treatment significantly lowered the BP in SHRs, but this hypotensive effect was completely blocked by eNOS inhibition with ω-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester. In vitro studies revealed that βL activated eNOS, which was accompanied by an increased NAD(+)/NADH ratio. Moreover, βL significantly decreased acetylation of eNOS; however, this reduced eNOS acetylation was completely precluded by inhibition of SIRT1 in the bEnd.3 cells and in the aorta of the SHRs. Consistent with these effects, βL-induced reduction in BP was also abolished by SIRT1 inhibition in the SHRs.To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to demonstrate that eNOS acetylation can be regulated by NQO1 activation in an SIRT1-dependent manner, which is correlated with the relief of hypertension. These findings provide strong evidence that NQO1 might be a new therapeutic target for hypertension.© American Journal of Hypertension, Ltd 2014. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.