Extensive Simulated Diving Aggravates Endothelial Dysfunction in Male Pro-atherosclerotic ApoE Knockout Rats

Figures

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  FIGURE 1. Study design: all rats were fed a Western diet for a period of 8 weeks and were then randomly divided into two groups; a simulated diving and a non-diving control group. The diving group was dived twice/week for 7 weeks. The diving groups were scanned twice for decompression-induced gas bubbles after first and the last (14th) dive. The scanning was performed by using ultrasound system.

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  FIGURE 2. (A) Average body mass and (B) total cholesterol level over time, in diving vs. non-diving ApoE KO rats after 8 weeks on a Western diet followed by 7 weeks of standard chow diet; **P < 0.0001, ANOVA ± SD, n = 12.

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  FIGURE 3. U46619 concentration-response curves of pulmonary arteries from diving and non-diving groups; (A) control conditions; (B) incubation for 20 min with non-selective inhibitor of NO synthase, L-NAME (100 μM), **p < 0.0001 diving vs. non-diving; (C) incubation for 20 min with both L-NAME (100 μM) and indomethacin (3 μM), **p < 0.003 diving vs. non-diving; (D) 20 min incubation with cocktail: L-NAME, indomethacin, TRAM-34 and apamin; F test ± SE, n = 10.

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  FIGURE 4. (A) Concentration-response curves of pulmonary arteries from diving and non-diving ApoE KO rats to ACh under control conditions, **P < 0.003; (B) Concentration-response curves of pulmonary arteries to SNP; F-test, n = 10.

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  FIGURE 5. Concentration response curve of mesenteric arteries from diving and non-diving ApoE KO rats to noradrenaline; F-test ± SE, n = 10, **p < 0.001.

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  FIGURE 6. ACh concentration-response curves of mesenteric arteries from diving and non-diving groups; (A) control conditions, **P = 0.01; (B) 20 min incubation with non-selective inhibitor of NO synthase, L-NAME (100 μM); (C) 20 min incubation with L-NAME (100 μM) and indomethacin (3 μM); (D) 20 min incubation with cocktail: L-NAME, indomethacin, TRAM-34 and apamin, i.e., pharmacological inhibition of all major pathways for endothelium-dependent relaxation, **p < 0.0002; (E) SNP; F-test ± SE, n = 10.

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  FIGURE 7. (A) Mitochondrial respiration capacity after addition of substrates; GM (state 2), glutamate and malate; GM3 (state 3) glutamate and malate; GMS3 (state 3), glutamate, malate and succinate; 4o (state 4), oligomycin; ROX, residual oxygen consumption (B) respiratory control ratio (RCR); (C) Citrate synthase (an index for mitochondrial numbers), t-test ± SD, n = 8.