Inhibitory Effects of Insulin on Cytosolic Ca2+ Level and Contraction in the Rat Aorta Endothelium-Dependent and -Independent Mechanisms

Abstract To determine the mechanism of the inhibitory effect of insulin on vascular tone, contraction was measured simultaneously with endothelial and smooth muscle cytosolic Ca2+ level ([Ca2+]i) in the isolated rat aorta. Insulin (200 mU/mL) increased endothelial [Ca2+]i and decreased resting muscle tone. The removal of endothelium abolished the effects of insulin. In the aorta precontracted with norepinephrine, insulin (3 to 120 mU/mL) induced concentration-dependent inhibition of contraction. The relaxant effect followed the increase in endothelial [Ca2+]i and decrease in smooth muscle [Ca2+]i. The relaxant effect was attenuated by removal of endothelium or by the addition of 10−5 mol/L NG-monomethyl-l-arginine but not by 10−5 mol/L indomethacin. In the absence of endothelium, the relaxant effect of insulin followed the decrease in smooth muscle [Ca2+]i. These results suggest that insulin inhibits vascular contraction by dual mechanisms in the isolated rat aorta: (1) Insulin acts on vascular endotheliu...