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Title: Characterization of dynamic changes in vascular reactivity following treatment with carmustine in Sprague-Dawley rats

Thesis/Dissertation ·
OSTI ID:7023945

Carmustine, 1,3-bis(2-chloroethyl)-1-nitrosourea (BCNU), is a highly effective anti-cancer drug and bone marrow suppressant agent in humans and animals. Pilot studies demonstrated that BCNU induced a time- and dose-dependent supersensitivity to norepinephrine (NE) in rat caudal arteries after a single dose. The studies presented in this thesis were performed to determine the mechanism for this supersensitivity. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were administered a single dose of BCNU (25 mg/kg, i.p.) on day 0. On day 7 a proximal section of caudal artery was doubly cannulated and perfused intraluminally with Krebs bicarbonate physiological buffer. These studies demonstrated that the supersensitivity induced by BCNU treatment was pre-junctional. Denervation of caudal arteries with 6-hydroxydopamine led to a significant decrease in the EC/sub 50/ for NE in caudal arteries from control rats but not BCNU treated rats. The EC/sub 50/ for NE in control-denervated arterial segments was not statistically different from BCNU-denervated or BCNU-nondenervated segments. Metabolism of (/sup 3/H) NE to its 5 primary metabolites, as determined by thin layer chromatography, and uptake of (/sup 3/H) NE were significantly lower in caudal arteries taken from BCNU treated rats. These data demonstrate that a pre-junctional mechanism was responsible for vascular supersensitivity to NE after BCNU treatment in caudal arteries from Sprague-Dawley rats.

Research Organization:
Oregon State Univ., Corvallis (USA)
OSTI ID:
7023945
Resource Relation:
Other Information: Thesis (Ph. D.)
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English