Divergent Effects of Acute and Chronic Ethanol Exposure on Contraction and Ca2+ Mobilization in Cultured Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells

In cultured rat vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC), acute preincubation of 100 mmol/L ethanol for 30 min attenuated the number of contracting cells in response to (10 -7 , mol/L) arginine vasopressin (AVP) (P<.01). In contrast, VSMC cultured chronically for 3 days in medium supplemented with 100 mmol/L ethanol enhanced (10 -7 , mol/L) AVP-induced shape change (P<.01). SPECIFIC 3 H-AVP binding to VSMC after acute or chronic exposure to 100 mmol/L ethanol did not differ from those of control experiments