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Pulmonary hypertension (PH) still requires both elucidation of pathological mechanisms and development of new treatment agents. We previously reported that an intraperitoneal administration of minocycline prevented monocrotaline-induced PH in rats. However, the direct vasodilatory effects of minocycline on isolated pulmonary artery are unclear. We then investigated them in rat isolated intrapulmonary arteries (IPAs). In both endothelium-intact and -denuded IPAs, minocycline (10 μg/ml) inhibited endothelin-1 (40 nM)- or high-K+ (72.7 mM)-induced precontraction. In endothelium-intact IPAs, indomethacin (10 μM) significantly inhibited the relaxation. We revealed for the first time that minocycline indues vasodilation through both endothelium-dependent and -independent mechanisms in isolated IPAs. |