Inhibition of Vascular Constrictor Responses with Acute Statin Treatment is Independent of the Type of Statin, Species or Vascular Bed

Purpose: Previously we have shown that acute statin pretreatment inhibits constrictor responses in isolated rat mesenteric microvessels. The objective of this study is to extend these observations to human large vessels and an isolated heart preparation. Methods: (1) Isolated Human Arteries: Internal mammary artery (IMA) rings from 6 patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting, were mounted in an organ bathandendothelial integrity assessedwithacetylcholine. Noradrenaline (NA) concentration–response curves were determined following 60min incubation with either pravastatin (112 nM), simvastatin (61 nM) or vehicle control. Experimentswere repeated in endothelium-denuded vessels or following nitric oxide synthase inhibitor (LNAME; 300 M) treatment. (2) Isolated Rat Beating Heart Preparation: Using a rat Langendorff model pretreated with either vehicle control, p c l R e p c 2 w p r c e C i b s s s