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Biomedical subjects

J L Imbs

Publications and source records attributed to J L Imbs.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

Renal dopamine excretion in healthy volunteers after oral ingestion of L-dopa.

L-Dopa is converted to dopamine by aromatic-L-amino acid decarboxylase (AADC). In the kidney, proximal tubular epithelial cells are rich in AADC and urinary free dopamine excretion is a marker for endorenal extraneuronal dopamine synthesis. The urinary free dopamine excretion was analysed in a double-blind cross-over study after oral ingestion of L-Dopa or a placebo in five healthy volunteers. The drug ingestions were separated by one week's wash-out. Since in a preliminary study, two volunteers ingesting a single L-Dopa dose of 500 mg with breakfast experienced nausea, the five volunteers of the present study were given 300 mg L-Dopa (50 mg at 9 am with breakfast, 100 mg before lunch and 150 mg before dinner) without any adverse effects. L-Dopa induced an increase in 24-h urinary dopamine excretion (HPLC with electrochemical detection). Free urinary dopamine (1900 micrograms/24 h) accounted for 0.8% of the daily oral L-Dopa dose and represented 10% of total urinary dopamine excretion. L-Dopa treatment had no significant effect on mean ambulatory arterial blood pressure and heart rate measured from 9 am to 6 pm (Spacelabs) or on 24 h urinary water and sodium excretion.

Adult↗

Angiotensin converting enzyme variability in hypertensive and normotensive rats.

Recent data have revealed biological and genetic variability in normotensive Wistar-Kyoto rats, which are considered to be the most appropriate control strain for spontaneously hypertensive rats. To investigate the possibility that angiotensin converting enzyme activity could be affected by this variability, we measured plasma and tissue (lung, heart, renal cortex, renal medulla, and adrenal gland) angiotensin converting enzyme activity in spontaneously hypertensive rats and normotensive Wistar-Kyoto rats from three commercial suppliers in France: Iffa-Credo, Janvier, and Charles River Laboratories. Angiotensin converting enzyme activity was measured in vitro with a fluorometric assay using carbobenzoxy-Phe-His-Leu as substrate. Angiotensin converting enzyme activity in both rat strains varied considerably from one supplier to another, and therefore, comparisons of spontaneously hypertensive rats and Wistar-Kyoto rats from the different suppliers produced conflicting results. For Wistar-Kyoto rats, angiotensin converting enzyme activity in the plasma, heart, kidney, and adrenal glands was highest in rats from Iffa-Credo and lowest in rats from Charles River. For spontaneously hypertensive rats, angiotensin converting enzyme activity in the plasma and tissues was highest in rats from Janvier, whereas no difference could be observed between rats from Iffa-Credo and Charles River. These data confirm the problem of how to interpret and compare studies that use spontaneously hypertensive and Wistar-Kyoto rat strains.

Adrenal Glands↗

Indapamide reduces hypertensive left ventricular hypertrophy: an international multicenter study.

The effect of 6 months of treatment with indapamide (IND, 2.5 mg/day) on regression of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), an independent predictor of poor prognosis in hypertension, was compared by echocardiography to that of nifedipine (NFD, 40 mg/day), enalapril (ENL, 20 mg/day), atenolol (ATL, 100 mg/day), and hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ, 25 mg/day) in four parallel double-blind studies in 151 hypertensive patients with a diastolic blood pressure between 95 and 120 mm Hg and a raised left ventricular mass index (LVMI) (mg/m2) (Devereux). Patients were randomized to IND or comparator following a 2-week washout (1 month in the IND vs. ATL study). Respective baseline and 6-month LVMI values (mg/m2) were: IND (n = 20) vs. HCTZ (n = 20): 151.4 +/- 6.3 and 125.70 +/- 4.6 (p < 0.001) vs. 141.3 +/- 6.6 and 135.6 +/- 8.3 (p = N.S.); IND (n = 22) vs NFD (n = 19): 144.1 +/- 5.3 and 125.1 +/- 4.3 (p < 0.001) vs. 170.4 +/- 6.6 and 148.2 +/- 6.2 (p < 0.001); IND (n = 9) vs. ENL (n = 9): 155.1 +/- 6.3 and 143.4 +/- 5.2 (p < 0.001) vs. 142.0 +/- 6.7 and 130.0 +/- 5.9 (p < 0.001); IND (n = 17) vs. ATL (n = 12): 146.2 +/- 5.1 and 130.8 +/- 6.5 (p < 0.001) vs. 156.7 +/- 8.4 and 142.9 +/- 10.3 (p < 0.01). All drugs significantly reduced diastolic blood pressure, and all except HCTZ induced a significant and similar reduction in left ventricular mass.

Adult↗

[Changing of renal endothelium-dependent vascular reactivity by cyclosporin A].

Clinical use of the immunosuppressant cyclosporine A (CSA) is hampered by its nephrotoxicity. The renal vascular resistance is increased, may be as a consequence of a deleterious effect of the drug on the vascular endothelial cell function. The renal effects of a subchronic treatment with CSA (50 mg/kg/d, sc, 18 days), or olive oil vehicule (1 ml/kg), were studied in normotensive male Wistar rats. Creatinine clearance was measured on 24 h urine collection before the right kidney of the animals was isolated and perfused in an open circuit at 6 ml/min with Tyrode's solution. Renal vasodilator responses to acetylcholine (ACH, 10(-10) to 10(-7) M) and sodium nitroprusside (NP, 3 x 10(-9) to 3 x 10(-6) M) were studied after reestablishment of a renal vascular tone by a continuous perfusion of noradrenaline (NA, 10(-7) M). ACH was more potent than NP to induce renal vasodilation (EC50 = 0.57 +/- 0.05 x 10(-9) M, n = 8, vs 3.42 +/- 0.29 x 10(-8) M, n = 5), but both drugs reversed the NA-induced vasoconstriction by near 90%. L-NAME (3 x 10(-5) M) had no effect on NP-induced renal relaxation but suppressed responses to low concentrations of ACH and decreased by half its Emax (47 +/- 17%).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Acetylcholine↗

[Plasma renin activity and angiotensin converting enzyme of renal brush borders].

The present experiment was undertaken to examine the relationship between plasma renin activity and the concentration of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) in plasma and renal brush border of Wistar Kyoto rats. Different experimental models known to have opposite effects on plasma renin activity were used: changes in salt intake, the deoxycorticosterone acetate (DOCA) and DOCA-salt models and the two-kidneys one clip (2K1C) model. Two weeks after the start of these experimental series, the rats were killed. At this time, blood pressure did not differ from control group, even in the 2K1C and DOCA-salt groups. As expected, PRAs were highest in the 2K1C and depleted salt groups and lowest in the DOCA, DOCA-salt and high salt groups. No relationship between this wide variation in PRA and change of ACE activity in both plasma and renal brush border could be observed. In the plasma, ACE activity in sodium-depleted rats was slightly decreased whereas no change occurred in the other models. In the kidney, DOCA treatment led to increased ACE activity in the brush border only if the animals were maintained on a high salt intake. DOCA or NaCl alone failed to have this effect. In the 2K1C model, the clipped kidneys exhibited increased brush border ACE activity whereas the unclipped kidneys did not show any significant variation in ACE activity, when compared to sham operated rats. In summary, on one hand these findings show that variations in ACE activity were linked neither to hypertension nor to changes in PRA.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗

[Captopril test for detecting renal artery stenosis: changes in plasma renin concentration].

The aim of this study was to demonstrate the diagnostic value of changes in active renin concentration during the captopril test (measurements of plasmatic active renin concentrations, before 12.5 or 37.5 mg of captopril p.o., and 30 and 90 minutes after) in order to screen a significant renal artery stenosis. After a renal angiography, 88 hypertensive patients suspected of renovascular hypertension were classified according to the percentage of stenosis in the main renal artery: class I (< 30% - n = 50), II (30 to < 75% - n = 21), III (75 to < 90% - n = 8) and IV (90 to 100% - n = 11). The results of the captopril test were compared to those of renal angiography. The active renin before the test (basal AR), the greater increase in active renin after captopril (max AR), the difference between max AR and basal AR (DIF) and the active renin relative change after the test (RC) were compared in the 4 classes (ANOVA). There were no differences in diastolic blood pressure (> or = 90 mmHg) natriuresis (100 mmol/24 h in mean) between these different classes. The basal AR, the max AR, the DIF and the RC significantly differed between the 4 classes. They were greater in class III and IV than in class I. The positive criteria for the captopril test were max AR, DIF and RC. The positivity thresholds were max AR > or = 70 ng/l, DIF > or = 50 ng/l and RC > or = 165% (upper limit in the class I 95% confidence interval for each criterion).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Aged↗

In vitro vascular reactivity of the rat utero-feto-placental unit.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the vascular reactivity to vasoconstrictor drugs and the local role of angiotensin I-converting enzyme in the rat utero-feto-placental unit. METHODS: The experiments were carried out in vitro on a new model of the isolated perfused uterine horn from 19 nonpregnant and 16 pregnant rats. RESULTS: Norepinephrine, angiotensin II, and angiotensin I induced concentration-dependent vasoconstriction in non-pregnant uteri (50% effective concentration = 271 +/- 63, 9.9 +/- 3.7, and 1.7 +/- 0.8 x 10(-9) mol/L, respectively; n = 4-5, mean +/- standard error of the mean). In pregnant uteri, the maximum vasoconstrictor effects of norepinephrine (increase in perfusion pressure 132 +/- 6 versus 186 +/- 20 mmHg in pregnant and nonpregnant, respectively) and angiotensin II (37 +/- 9 versus 89 +/- 4 mmHg), but not angiotensin I, were significantly lower. The vasoconstrictor effect of angiotensin I was inhibited by saralasin, an antagonist of the angiotensin II receptors, and by ramiprilat, a converting-enzyme inhibitor. CONCLUSION: The isolated perfused rat utero-feto-placental unit is a useful experimental model for studying uterine vascular reactivity during pregnancy. Our in vitro results confirm vascular refractoriness to norepinephrine and angiotensin II during pregnancy and demonstrate local angiotensin II synthesis in the rat uterine vascular bed.

Angiotensin II↗

[Ambulatory or single measurement of blood pressure: comparison in a controlled trial in patients with hypertension].

Single measurement during a visit and the calculation of blood pressure pattern from an ambulatory record are different criteria for evaluation of the efficacy of antihypertensive treatment. Results obtained by these two methods were compared in a controlled trial. Acebutolol or enalapril were given double-blind to 17 patients with uncomplicated moderate essential hypertension. After a two week run-in period (with dummy treatment), patients were allocated at random into two parallel groups. They took acebutolol (400 mg) or enalapril (20 mg) as a single daily dose for 3 months. Ambulatory measurement of blood pressure for 24 hours (Spacelabs 5200 SPM) was carried out the day prior to final inclusion, and at the end of the first then the third month of active treatment. A single measurement of blood pressure took place at the same times. Safety/acceptability of treatment based upon clinical and laboratory parameters was good. At inclusion, single measurements showed that all patients had a diastolic blood pressure (DBP) over 95 mmHg. However, ambulatory BP was significantly lower in the enalapril group. With treatment, the fall in DBP by single measurement was significant only at the first month with enalapril and at the third month with acebutolol while the effects of both drugs were significant on ambulatory systolic blood pressure (SBP) and DBP by the first month. Ambulatory BP revealed a superior antihypertensive action of acebutolol on SBP at the third month but this was not shown by single BP measurements. These results confirm the specificity of trial protocols of antihypertensive drugs based upon ambulatory BP measurements.

Acebutolol↗

Effects of chlorpromazine and lorazepam on explicit memory, repetition priming and cognitive skill learning in healthy volunteers.

To assess the influence of neuroleptics on explicit memory and two forms of implicit memory, repetition priming and cognitive skill learning, the effects of two low doses of chlorpromazine (12.5 and 25 mg orally) were contrasted to those of lorazepam (2.5 mg orally) and of a placebo using a free-recall task, a word-completion task and repeated testing on the Tower of Toronto puzzle, a version of the Tower of Hanoi puzzle. Seventy-two healthy volunteers took part in this double-blind study. Chlorpromazine spared free-recall and word-completion performance, but impaired the acquisition of a cognitive routine in the subjects who completed the first trials of the Tower of Toronto puzzle efficiently. Lorazepam induced an opposite pattern of memory disruption. These preliminary results suggest that chlorpromazine and lorazepam induced a double dissociation between priming and the acquisition of a cognitive routine. They provide evidence that the two forms of implicit memory rely upon distinct neurochemical systems, the latter, but not the former, being dependent upon dopaminergic systems.

Adult↗

Differential effects of diazepam and lorazepam on repetition priming in healthy volunteers.

The effects of two benzodiazepines, diazepam (15 or 20 mg orally) and lorazepam (1.75 or 2.5 mg orally), and a placebo on explicit memory, lexical priming and perceptual priming were assessed using a free-recall, a word-completion and a picture-completion test. The picture-completion test included two different study conditions intended to manipulate the magnitude of the priming effect. Sixty healthy volunteers took part in this double-blind study. Free-recall performances were altered by both drugs. Lorazepam impaired word-completion and picture-completion performance, whereas diazepam only exhibited a deleterious effect on the more sensitive of the two measures of the picture-completion test. These results indicate that the two benzodiazepines have differential amnestic effects. It is suggested that these differential effects could be accounted for by a different cortical distribution of the two benzodiazepines.

Adult↗

In vitro stability of the inhibition of serum converting enzyme by fosinopril.

With captopril, it has been shown that an erroneous measurement of serum angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) can be induced by the dissociation of the inhibitor-ACE complex during long-term storage. We have studied the possible dissociation of the fosinopril-ACE complex during the storage of serum samples from healthy male volunteers given a single dose of fosinopril. Serum samples were collected from 5 volunteers, 5 min before, then 4 and 24 h after a unique oral dose of 10 mg fosinopril. ACE activity was measured by a colorimetric and a fluorimetric assay during the hour following the sampling (day 0) and after 21 or 61 days of storage at -20 or -196 degrees C. The degree of ACE inhibition measured in vitro in fresh serum samples differed according to the technique used. Fosinopril has a long-lasting effect with 80% inhibition 24 hours after drug administration. Storage at -20 and -196 degrees C induced a significant decrease in the degree of inhibition measured with the colorimetric method. With the fluorimetric method, a decrease in ACE inhibition was only observed after storage at -20 degrees C but not at -196 degrees C.

Administration, Oral↗

[Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy with left ventricular dynamic obstruction syndrome in hypertensive adult patients].

Seven adult patients with old and severe arterial hypertension were found to have hypertrophic cardiomyopathy with left ventricular obstruction demonstrated by an isoproterenol test. Whenever feasible, confirmation that systolic obstruction of the left ventricular outflow tract was due to anterior systolic movement of the mitral valve was obtained. Echocardiography revealed a number of ultrasonic features (asymmetrical septal hypertrophy, small left ventricle and clear-cut reduction of the left ventricular outflow tract) which put these cases closer to the primary hypertrophic cardiopathy group than to the hypertensive cardiomyopathy group, with a similar history of hypertension. Detecting this group is facilitated by the use of vasoactive drugs in patients with these echocardiographic features. This is important since there is a risk of poor tolerance to vasodilators, notably nitrates, which may suddenly reveal the left ventricular dynamic obstruction syndrome. These patients are also exposed to paroxysmal atrial fibrillation.

Adult↗

The effects of muzolimine and urine from muzolimine-treated rats on Na+K+Cl- cotransport in Madin-Darby canine kidney cells.

Muzolimine is a loop diuretic with an original chemical structure devoid of the acidic or sulfonamide group known to be necessary for an interaction with Na+K+Cl- cotransport. We studied the effects of urine from muzolimine-treated rats on the Na+K+Cl- cotransport-dependent 86Rb influx in MDCK cells. Na+K+Cl- cotransport was inhibited by urine obtained 15 min (42% inhibition) and 60 min (49% inhibition) after muzolimine injection (50 mumol/kg i.v.). Muzolimine itself was not detectable in the urine. Probenecid (100 mumol/kg i.v.) suppressed both the diuretic effect of muzolimine and the inhibition of Na+K+Cl- cotransport by urine from muzolimine-treated rats. These results suggest that the diuretic effect of muzolimine is due to the metabolism of muzolimine into an active compound which inhibits Na+K+Cl- cotransport after its secretion into the tubular lumen via a proximal pathway. The direct effect of muzolimine on Na+K+Cl- cotransport in MDCK cells was also tested: surprisingly, the inhibition of 86Rb influx was significant in the presence of muzolimine (IC50 = 1.44 microM). We show that this effect was due to the metabolism of muzolimine by these cells into an active compound.

Animals↗

[3H]ramiprilat binding to the angiotensin-converting enzyme in rat renal brush-border membranes: the effect of chloride.

The [3H]ramiprilat binding to the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) in rat renal brush-border membranes was studied. At pH 7.9, and in the presence of 50 mM NaCl, specific binding of [3H]ramiprilat was saturable with a dissociation constant KD = 5.05 nM and maximum number of binding sites of 1.52 pmol/mg prot. [3H]Ramiprilat binding was completely inhibited by specific inhibitors of ACE: ramiprilat, ramipril, enalaprilat, enalapril and captopril. [3H]Ramiprilat binding was Zn2(+)- and Cl(-)-dependent. In the presence of EGTA, which chelates Zn2+ ions, ramiprilat binding was inhibited, but the addition of Zn2+ restored the initial binding. Binding was maximum in the presence of 10 mM NaCl while higher NaCl concentrations decreased the binding, corresponding to a decrease in affinity. The association and dissociation kinetics were also NaCl-dependent. In the absence of NaCl, association and dissociation kinetics were rapid and monophasic. Two-step dissociation kinetics appeared in the presence of 10, 50 and 300 mM NaCl and dissociation time increased with the NaCl concentration. These results confirmed the role of Cl- in the isomerisation and the stability of the membrane-associated ACE-inhibitor complex.

Alkaline Phosphatase↗

Effects of dopamine prodrugs and fenoldopam on glomerular hyperfiltration in streptozotocin-induced diabetes in rats.

The effects of dopamine (DA) prodrugs (L-dopa and gludopa) and of a D1-selective agonist (fenoldopam) on glomerular hyperfiltration were studied in the early stage of diabetes in rats. Wistar rats received one injection of streptozotocin (STZ) and were treated 1 week later with L-dopa (2 x 10 mg/kg/day, s.c.), gludopa (2 x 3 or 2 x 10 mg/kg/day, s.c.), or fenoldopam (2 x 0.3 or 2 x 1 mg/kg/day, s.c.). Their renal functions were compared with those of untreated diabetic and nondiabetic control rats. STZ injection led to hyperglycemia that was kept moderate (20-25 mmol/L) by daily insulin therapy (2-4 U of NPH insulin). Within 2 weeks, glomerular hyperfiltration (polyfructosan clearance) developed in diabetic rats (30% increase vs. nondiabetic control). A rise in renal plasma flow (PAH clearance) was sometimes observed. One week of treatment with either L-dopa, gludopa, or fenoldopam normalized the glomerular filtration rate and decreased filtration fraction. These corrections occurred despite similar metabolic disturbance and kidney hypertrophy. Gludopa was less well tolerated by diabetic rats than L-dopa. Results with L-dopa showed that the normalization of glomerular hyperfiltration was linked to DA synthesis and stimulation of D1 receptors, since it was reversed by carbidopa, a dopa decarboxylase inhibitor, and by SCH 23390, a D1-selective antagonist. These data show that DA prodrugs and a D1 agonist can suppress diabetic glomerular hyperfiltration in the very early course of the disease in rats.

2,3,4,5-Tetrahydro-7,8-dihydroxy-1-phenyl-1H-3-ben↗

In vitro tissue potencies of converting enzyme inhibitors. Prodrug activation by kidney esterase.

The inhibition of angiotensin converting enzyme by ramipril, ramiprilat, enalapril, enalaprilat, and captopril was studied in the plasma and various tissues (lung, heart, renal cortex, renal medulla) of normotensive rats and spontaneously hypertensive rats. Displacement curves for [3H]ramiprilat were established on each tissue with the converting enzyme inhibitors, and their potencies were expressed as the concentration that inhibited 50% of the specific [3H]ramiprilat binding. In the plasma, lung, and heart, the order of activities was: ramiprilat greater than enalaprilat greater than captopril greater than ramipril greater than enalapril. This order was different in the kidney (cortex and medulla): ramiprilat greater than enalaprilat greater than ramipril greater than captopril greater than enalapril. For ramiprilat, enalaprilat, and captopril, there were no differences in their respective potencies between tissues or between rat strains. However, the two prodrugs ramipril and enalapril were 10-30 times more active in the kidney than in the other tissues in both groups of rats. This was due to the deesterification of the prodrugs: in the presence of an esterase inhibitor (diethyl nitrophenyl phosphate, 10 microM), the potencies of ramipril in the kidney were not different from that obtained in the lung, which was not affected by the presence of the esterase inhibitor. These results suggest that the variations in the tissue activities of an angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor are probably not due to differences in tissue affinities of the angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor but depend on the concentration of this angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor in each tissue.

Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors↗

[Changing factors of the activity of angiotensin converting enzyme of renal brush border in rats].

In the kidney, angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) is present in the vascular endothelial cells and in the brush border of epithelial cells of the proximal tubule. In spite of this well-known distribution of ACE, little is known of its regulation. In order to elucidate the possible mechanisms of control for brush border ACE, the effects of dexamethasone (DM), (40 micrograms s.c. per day, for 7 days) and triiodothyronine (T3) 0.5 mg/kg s.c. per day, for 10 days) were investigated in male Wistar rats. Plasma and brush border ACE activities were measured by fluorimetry in the presence of an artificial substrate Cbz-Phe-His-Leu and brush border ACE was characterized with a binding assay using 3H-ramiprilat, a specific radiolabelled ACE inhibitor. DM elicited a significant decrease in plasma ACE activity (from 0.46 +/- 0.03 to 0.28 +/- 0.02 nmol His-Leu/min/mg protein) but did not alter enzyme activity in the brush border: 47.12 +/- 5.12 nmol His-Leu/min/mg protein (control, n = 6) and 47.78 +/- 5.63 (DM, n = 6). Administering T3 produced a marked increase in the brush border ACE activity (from 42.87 +/- 4.9 to 81.41 +/- 11.7 nmol His-Leu/min/mg protein). Similarly, the maximum number of 3H-ramiprilat-binding sites increased in the brush border, indicating a good correlation between ACE activity and the quantity of 3H-ramiprilat bound. Thus, the variation in tissue ACE activity corresponded to a change in the enzyme concentration.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗