2010 Fiscal Year Final Research Report
Modulatory Effects of Vascular Humoral Factors on Membrane Function in Metabolic Syndrome
| Project/Area Number |
20590710
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
General internal medicine (including Psychosomatic medicine)
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| Research Institution | Kansai College of Oriental Medicine |
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Principal Investigator |
TSUDA Kazushi Kansai College of Oriental Medicine, 保健医療学部, 教授 (90217315)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2008 – 2010
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| Keywords | 総合診療 / メタボリックシンドローム / 高血圧 / 細胞膜異常 / 血管内分泌因子 |
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| Research Abstract |
It has been shown that abnormalities in physical properties of the cell membranes may underlie the defects that are strongly linked to hypertension, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases. In the present study, we examined the membrane fluidity (a reciprocal value of membrane microviscosity) of erythrocytes in hypertensive subjects with metabolic disorders by using an electron spin resonance (ESR) method. We demonstrated that membrane fluidity of erythrocytes was significantly lower in hypertensive subjects than in normotensive subjects. It was shown that the lower was the plasma nitric oxide (NO) metabolite level, the lower was the membrane fluidity of erythrocytes. In contrast, the higher was the plasma asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) level, the lower was the membrane fluidity of erythrocytes. Plasma homocysteine concentration was significantly increased in hypertensive subjects compared with normotensive subjects. The reduced membrane fluidity of erythrocytes was associated with higher plasma homocysteine levels. In an in vitro study, the selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM), tamoxifen, significantly restored membrane fluidity of erythrocytes in elderly women, which was partially mediated by the NO-dependent mechanism. We propose that reduced membrane fluidity of erythrocytes might cause a disturbance in the blood rheologic behavior and the microcirculation, and that improvement of membrane function could contribute, at least in part, to the prevention against circulatory disorders in subjects with hypertension and the metabolic syndrome.
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