The disturbance of calcium metabolism of vascular smooth muscle in the late phase of septic shock and the underlying mechanism

AIM: To evaluate the alterations in calcium metabolism of the vascular smooth muscle in the late phase of septic shock and test the hypothesis that nitric oxide might be involved in sepsis-induced vascular hyporeactivity. METHODS: Male Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to sepsis by cecal ligation and puncture (CLP). 18 hours post CLP, rat aortic rings were employed for measurement of contractile responses by using organ bath technique. RESULTS: In endothelium-denuded aortic rings from CLP rats, concentration-contraction curves to phenylephrine (PE) and KCl were significantly decreased when compared to that from sham control rats. The transient contraction induced by PE in calcium-free Krebs solution and the concentration-dependent contraction to CaCl₂ in KCl-depolarized medium were also markedly reduced. The hyporeactivity was partially reversed by treatment with aminoguanidine, a selective inducible nitric oxide synthase inhibitor. CONCLUSION: An impairment in calcium handling in vascular smooth muscle is involved in the vascular hyporeactivity during the late phase of septic shock, in which an excessive nitric oxide production might be the major mechanism.