The Vasoactive Effect of Perivascular Adipose Tissue and Hydrogen Sulfide in Thoracic Aortas of Normotensive and Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats

Figure 1. Nordrenaline-induced contractile response of the thoracic aorta in normotensive Wistar rats (W, n = 8) and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs, n = 8) with preserved (PVAT+) or denuded (PVAT−) perivascular adipose tissue expressed as the active wall tension (a), and as percentages of the maximal-reached response induced by noradrenaline (b), before (PPG−) and after (PPG+) pretreatment with DL-propargylglycine (c,d). The results are presented as the mean ± S.E.M., and differences between groups were analyzed by three-way ANOVA with the Bonferroni post hoc test on ranks. *** p < 0.001 vs. W PVAT−; +++ p < 0.001 vs. SHR PVAT−; ### p <0.001 vs. W PVAT+; * p < 0.05 vs. W PVAT−; * p < 0.05 vs. W PVAT−/PPG−; *** p < 0.001 vs. W PVAT−/PPG−; +++ p < 0.001 vs. SHR PVAT−/PPG−; ## p < 0.01 vs. SHR PVAT+/PPG−.

Figure 2. Endothelium-dependent vasorelaxation of the thoracic aorta of normotensive Wistar rats (W, n = 8) and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs, n = 8) with intact (PVAT+) or removed (PVAT−) perivascular adipose tissue (a) before (PPG−) and after (PPG+) pretreatment with DL-propargylglycine (b,c). The results are presented as the mean ± S.E.M., and differences between groups were analyzed by three-way ANOVA with the Bonferroni post hoc test on ranks. *** p < 0.001 vs. W PVAT−/PPG−; +++ p < 0.001 vs. SHR PVAT−/PPG−; # p < 0.05 vs. W PVAT+; ### p < 0.001 vs. W PVAT+; + p < 0.05 vs. SHR PVAT−/PPG−.

Figure 3. Dual vasoactive response of the thoracic aorta induced by sodium sulfide (Na2S), an exogenous donor of H2S in normotensive Wistar rats (W, n = 8) and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs, n = 8) with intact (PVAT+) or removed (PVAT−). The results are presented as the mean ± S.E.M., and differences between groups were analyzed by three-way ANOVA with the Bonferroni post hoc test on ranks. # p < 0.05 vs. SHR PVAT−; *** p < 0.001 vs. W PVAT−; +++ p < 0.001 vs. W PVAT+.

Figure 4. The production of superoxide in the thoracic aorta (a) and left ventricle (b) in Wistar and spontaneously hypertensive rats. The results are presented as the mean ± S.E.M., and differences between groups were analyzed by Student’s t-test. * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01 vs. Wistar.

Figure 5. The level of cystathionine γ-lyase protein expression in the thoracic aorta (a) and perivascular adipose tissue in Wistar and spontaneously hypertensive rats (b). The results are presented as the mean ± S.E.M.