Modulation of p66Shc impairs cerebrovascular myogenic tone in low renin but not low nitric oxide models of systemic hypertension

Cerebral blood flow and perfusion are tightly maintained through autoregulation despite changes in transmural pressure. Oxidative stress impairs cerebral blood flow, precipitating cerebrovascular events. Phosphorylation of the adaptor protein p66Shc increases mitochondrial-derived oxidative stress. The effect of p66Shc gain or loss of function in non-hypertensive rats is unclear. We hypothesized that p66Shc gain of function would impair autoregulation of cerebral microcirculation under physiological and pathological conditions. Three previously established transgenic (salt-sensitive background; SS) p66Shc rats were utilized, p66-Del/SS (express p66Shc with a 9-amino acid deletion), p66Shc-KO/SS (frameshift premature termination codon), and p66Shc-S36A/SS (substitution of Ser36Ala). The p66Shc-Del were also bred on Sprague-Dawley backgrounds (p66-Del/SD), and a subset was exposed to a hypertensive stimulus (L-NAME) for 4 weeks. Active and passive diameters to increasing transmural pressure were measured and myogenic tone was calculated. Myogenic responses to increasing pressure were impaired in p66Shc-Del/SS rats relative to WT/SS and knock-in substitution of S36A (P<0.05). p66-Del/SD rats did not demonstrate changes in active/passive diameters or myogenic tone relative to WT/SD, but did demonstrate attenuated passive diameter responses to higher transmural pressure relative to p66-Del/SS. 4 weeks of a hypertensive stimulus (L-NAME) did not alter active or passive diameter responses to increasing transmural pressure (P=0.86-0.99), but increased myogenic responses relative to p66-Del/SD (P<0.05). Collectively, we demonstrate the functional impact of modulation of p66Shc within the cerebral circulation and demonstrate that the genetic background of p66Shc rats largely drives changes in cerebrovascular function.